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A high‐resolution record of Greenland mass balance
Author(s) -
McMillan Malcolm,
Leeson Amber,
Shepherd Andrew,
Briggs Kate,
Armitage Thomas W. K.,
Hogg Anna,
Kuipers Munneke Peter,
Broeke Michiel,
Noël Brice,
Berg Willem Jan,
Ligtenberg Stefan,
Horwath Martin,
Groh Andreas,
Muir Alan,
Gilbert Lin
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2016gl069666
Subject(s) - greenland ice sheet , glacier mass balance , glacier , firn , ice sheet , geology , groenlandia , climatology , snowpack , ice core , future sea level , altimeter , physical geography , snow , ice stream , cryosphere , oceanography , geodesy , geomorphology , sea ice , geography
We map recent Greenland Ice Sheet elevation change at high spatial (5 km) and temporal (monthly) resolution using CryoSat‐2 altimetry. After correcting for the impact of changing snowpack properties associated with unprecedented surface melting in 2012, we find good agreement (3 cm/yr bias) with airborne measurements. With the aid of regional climate and firn modeling, we compute high spatial and temporal resolution records of Greenland mass evolution, which correlate ( R = 0.96) with monthly satellite gravimetry and reveal glacier dynamic imbalance. During 2011–2014, Greenland mass loss averaged 269 ± 51 Gt/yr. Atmospherically driven losses were widespread, with surface melt variability driving large fluctuations in the annual mass deficit. Terminus regions of five dynamically thinning glaciers, which constitute less than 1% of Greenland's area, contributed more than 12% of the net ice loss. This high‐resolution record demonstrates that mass deficits extending over small spatial and temporal scales have made a relatively large contribution to recent ice sheet imbalance.