Accelerated ice-sheet mass loss in Antarctica from 18-year satellite laser ranging measurements
Shuanggen Jin, Mosta Abd-Elbaky, Guping Feng
article (Uluslararası, Hakemli) | Yazar(lar): Shuanggen Jin, Mosta Abd-Elbaky, Guping Feng | Yıl: 2016 | Dergi/Kurum: ANNALS OF GEOPHYSICS | İndeks: WOS.SCI | DOI: 10.4401/ag-6782 — Özet: Accurate estimation of the ice-sheet mass balance in Antarctic is very difficult due to complex ice sheet condition and sparse in-si
Accurate estimation of the ice-sheet mass balance in Antarctic is very difficult due to complex ice sheet condition and sparse in-situ measurements. In this paper, the low-degree gravity field coefficients of up to degree and order 5 derived from Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) measurements are the first used to determine the ice mass variations in Antarctica for the period 1993-2011, which are compared to Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE). Results show that the ice mass is is decreasing at the rate of -36 +/- 13 Gt/y in Antarctica, -42 +/- 11 Gt/y in West Antarctica and increasing at 6 +/- 10 Gt/y in East Antarctica from 1993 to 2011. The ice mass variations from the SLR 5x5 have a good agreement with the GRACE 5x5, GRACE 5x5 (1&2) and GRACE (60x60) for the entire continent since 2003, but SLR solution of 5x5 is not sufficient to quantify ice losses in West and East Antarctica, respectively. The rate of ice loss in Antarctica is -28 +/- 17 Gt/y for 1993-2002 and -55 +/- 17 Gt/y for 2003-2011 within one sigma, indicating significant accelerated ice mass losses since 2003. Furthermore, the results from SLR are comparable with GRACE measurements.