Open AccessNew estimate of volume of glaciers worldwide
Author(s) -
Balcerak Ernie
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/2012eo480013
Subject(s) - glacier , physical geography , climatology , geology , surge , climate change , glacier morphology , ice caps , volume (thermodynamics) , sea level , cryosphere , environmental science , geography , oceanography , geomorphology , sea ice , ice stream , physics , quantum mechanics
As climate warms, melting mountain glaciers are likely to contribute significantly to sea level rise over the next decades, but how much they will contribute remains uncertain, as the total volume of Earth's mountain glaciers is not precisely known. Some studies have estimated the total volume of water stored in glaciers worldwide using statistical techniques, but these studies do not take into account features of individual glaciers such as surface geometry and local climate. Other studies have used physically based methods to calculate ice thickness for small numbers of glaciers, but a worldwide, physically based study has not been done until now.