Recent Greenland Ice Mass Loss by Drainage System from Satellite Gravity Observations

• DOI: 10.1126/science.1130776
• Publication Date: 2006-10-20T01:28:20Z
• Authors: S. B. Luthcke; H. J. Zwally; W. Abdalati; D. D. Rowlands; R. D. Ray; R. S. Nerem; F. G. Lemoine; J. J. McCarthy; D. S. Chinn
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; 0303 health sciences; 03 medical and health sciences; 13. Climate action; 01 natural sciences; 0105 earth and related environmental sciences

Mass changes of the Greenland Ice Sheet resolved by drainage system regions were derived from a local mass concentration analysis of NASA–Deutsches Zentrum für Luftund Raumfahrt Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE mission) observations. From 2003 to 2005, the ice sheet lost 101 ± 16 gigaton/year, with a gain of 54 gigaton/year above 2000 meters and a loss of 155 gigaton/year at lower elevations. The lower elevations show a large seasonal cycle, with mass losses during summer melting followed by gains from fall through spring. The overall rate of loss reflects a considerable change in trend (–113 ± 17 gigaton/year) from a near balance during the 1990s but is smaller than some other recent estimates.