Premium
Heterogeneous Changes in Western North American Glaciers Linked to Decadal Variability in Zonal Wind Strength
Author(s) -
Menounos B.,
Hugonnet R.,
Shean D.,
Gardner A.,
Howat I.,
Berthier E.,
Pelto B.,
Tennant C.,
Shea J.,
Noh MyoungJong,
Brun F.,
Dehecq A.
Publication year - 2019
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 - 10.1029/2018gl080942
Subject(s) - glacier , climatology , climate change , glacier mass balance , geology , terrain , sea level rise , sea level , elevation (ballistics) , physical geography , digital elevation model , environmental science , oceanography , geography , geomorphology , remote sensing , cartography , geometry , mathematics
Western North American (WNA) glaciers outside of Alaska cover 14,384 km 2 of mountainous terrain. No comprehensive analysis of recent mass change exists for this region. We generated over 15,000 multisensor digital elevation models from spaceborne optical imagery to provide an assessment of mass change for WNA over the period 2000–2018. These glaciers lost 117 ± 42 gigatons (Gt) of mass, which accounts for up to 0.32 ± 0.11 mm of sea level rise over the full period of study. We observe a fourfold increase in mass loss rates between 2000–2009 [−2.9 ± 3.1 Gt yr −1 ] and 2009–2018 [−12.3 ± 4.6 Gt yr −1 ], and we attribute this change to a shift in regional meteorological conditions driven by the location and strength of upper level zonal wind. Our results document decadal‐scale climate variability over WNA that will likely modulate glacier mass change in the future.