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AGU: Geophysical Research Letters

 

Index Terms

  • Geodesy and Gravity: Time variable gravity
  • Geodesy and Gravity: Mass balance
  • Geodesy and Gravity: Satellite geodesy: results
  • Global Change: Cryospheric change
  • Global Change: Sea level change

Abstract

Antarctic mass rates from GRACE

J. L. Chen

Center for Space Research, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA

C. R. Wilson

Center for Space Research, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA

D. D. Blankenship

Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA

B. D. Tapley

Center for Space Research, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA

We estimate mass trends over Antarctica using gravity variations observed by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission during its first 3.5 years (April 2002–November 2005). An image of surface mass trends is constructed from 1° × 1° pixels over the entire continent, and shows two prominent features, a region of mass loss along the coast of West Antarctica, and one of accumulation in East Antarctica. After adjusting for bias due to smoothing and to GRACE's limited spatial resolution, and removing post glacial rebound (PGR) effects, the rate in West Antarctica is −77 ± 14 km3/year, similar to a recent estimate of ice mass loss from satellite altimetry and remote sensing data. The prominent East Antarctic feature in the Enderby Land region has a rate of +80 ± 16 km3/year. Published snow/ice mass rates from remote sensing measurements indicate approximate ice mass balance in this region, suggesting that this feature is either from unquantified snow accumulation in this region or more likely due to unmodeled PGR.

Received 29 March 2006; accepted 5 May 2006; published 9 June 2006.

Citation: Chen, J. L., C. R. Wilson, D. D. Blankenship, and B. D. Tapley (2006), Antarctic mass rates from GRACE, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L11502, doi:10.1029/2006GL026369.

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