UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Mass balance of the Antarctic Ice Sheet from 1992 to 2017

Shepherd, A; Ivins, E; Rignot, E; Smith, B; van den Broeke, M; Velicogna, I; Whitehouse, P; ... Wouters, B; + view all (2018) Mass balance of the Antarctic Ice Sheet from 1992 to 2017. Nature , 558 (7709) pp. 219-222. 10.1038/s41586-018-0179-y. Green open access

[thumbnail of Gilbert 24845.pdf]
Preview
Text
Gilbert 24845.pdf - Accepted Version

Download (791kB) | Preview

Abstract

The Antarctic Ice Sheet is an important indicator of climate change and driver of sea-level rise. Here we combine satellite observations of its changing volume, flow and gravitational attraction with modelling of its surface mass balance to show that it lost 2,720 ± 1,390 billion tonnes of ice between 1992 and 2017, which corresponds to an increase in mean sea level of 7.6 ± 3.9 millimetres (errors are one standard deviation). Over this period, ocean-driven melting has caused rates of ice loss from West Antarctica to increase from 53 ± 29 billion to 159 ± 26 billion tonnes per year; ice-shelf collapse has increased the rate of ice loss from the Antarctic Peninsula from 7 ± 13 billion to 33 ± 16 billion tonnes per year. We find large variations in and among model estimates of surface mass balance and glacial isostatic adjustment for East Antarctica, with its average rate of mass gain over the period 1992–2017 (5 ± 46 billion tonnes per year) being the least certain.

Type: Article
Title: Mass balance of the Antarctic Ice Sheet from 1992 to 2017
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0179-y
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0179-y
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Science & Technology, Multidisciplinary Sciences, Science & Technology - Other Topics, GLACIAL-ISOSTATIC-ADJUSTMENT, SUBGLACIAL LAKE VOSTOK, AMUNDSEN SEA EMBAYMENT, ELEVATION CHANGE, WEST ANTARCTICA, EAST ANTARCTICA, EXCEED LOSSES, PINE ISLAND, BASIN-SCALE, MAUD-LAND
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Space and Climate Physics
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10076800
Downloads since deposit
34Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item