Recent elevation changes of Svalbard glaciers derived from ICESat laser altimetry

Moholdt, Geir; Nuth, C.; Hagen, Jon Ove; Kohler, Jack

doi:10.1016/j.rse.2010.06.008

Cited by 264 publications

(362 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…[15] We considered both the density of firn and ice and, in contrast to other studies which applied ICESat data on GIC (e.g., [Gardner et al, 2010;Moholdt et al, 2010;Kääb et al, 2012]), also the firn compaction for the conversion of volume to mass changes. The resolution of the compaction model is too coarse for individual glaciers but provided reasonable results and reflects the expected general pattern, e.g., high densification in the wetter and warmer south-east and little densification in the dryer and colder north.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mass loss of Greenland's glaciers and ice caps 2003–2008 revealed from ICESat laser altimetry data

Bolch

Sørensen²,

Simonsen

et al. 2013

Geophysical Research Letters

125

135

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The recently finalized inventory of Greenland's glaciers and ice caps (GIC) allows for the first time to determine the mass changes of the GIC separately from the ice sheet using space‐borne laser altimetry data. Corrections for firn compaction and density that are based on climatic conditions are applied for the conversion from volume to mass changes. The GIC which are clearly separable from the icesheet (i.e., have a distinct ice divide or no connection) lost 27.9 ± 10.7 Gt a−1 or 0.08 ± 0.03 mm a−1 sea‐level equivalent (SLE) between October 2003 and March 2008. All GIC (including those with strong but hydrologically separable connections) lost 40.9 ± 16.5 Gt a−1 (0.12 ± 0.05 mm a−1 SLE). This is a significant fraction (~14 or 20%) of the reported overall mass loss of Greenland and up to 10% of the estimated contribution from the world's GIC to sea level rise. The loss was highest in southeastern and lowest in northern Greenland.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[11] The accuracy of the ICESat elevation data is in the ideal case over flat terrain AE0.15 m, but still sufficiently accurate over glaciers and ice caps (about AE0.5 m, Moholdt et al [2010]). Another uncertainty to consider, although small, is the ICESat intercampaign bias.…”

Section: Density Determinationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mass loss of Greenland's glaciers and ice caps 2003–2008 revealed from ICESat laser altimetry data

Bolch

Sørensen²,

Simonsen

et al. 2013

Geophysical Research Letters

125

135

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…ICESat products are freely available from NSIDC (www.nsidc.org), and are the third global elevation product publicly available and tested in this study. ICESat has been extremely successful for glacier applications in terms of elevation changes (Howat et al, 2008;Pritchard et al, 2009;Moholdt et al, 2010b) but also for determining the accuracy of newer satellite products (Korona et al, 2009) and older topographic maps (Nuth et al, 2010). Two second level products are available, GLA06 for smooth ice sheets and GLA14 for rougher terrain surfaces.…”

Section: Ices At Lidar Profilesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, the bias of individual ASTER scenes is incorporated into the GDEM and future compilations of a GDEM will benefit greatly from first co-registration of the individual tiles, and second removal of both the high and low frequency biases apparent in the individual ASTER SilcAst DEMs. In terms of glaciological research, the GDEM may be an appropriate data source for deriving area-altitude distributions of glaciers, which can be useful for volume change estimation using ICESat (Moholdt et al, 2010b) or for providing elevation input data required for spatial mass balance modelling.…”

Section: The Aster Gdemmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Co-registration and bias corrections of satellite elevation data sets for quantifying glacier thickness change

2011

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Abstract.There are an increasing number of digital elevation models (DEMs) available worldwide for deriving elevation differences over time, including vertical changes on glaciers. Most of these DEMs are heavily post-processed or merged, so that physical error modelling becomes difficult and statistical error modelling is required instead. We propose a three-step methodological framework for assessing and correcting DEMs to quantify glacier elevation changes: (i) remove DEM shifts, (ii) check for elevation-dependent biases, and (iii) check for higher-order, sensor-specific biases. A simple, analytic and robust method to co-register elevation data is presented in regions where stable terrain is either plentiful (case study New Zealand) or limited (case study Svalbard). The method is demonstrated using the three global elevation data sets available to date, SRTM, ICESat and the ASTER GDEM, and with automatically generated DEMs from satellite stereo instruments of ASTER and SPOT5-HRS. After 3-D co-registration, significant biases related to elevation were found in some of the stereoscopic DEMs. Biases related to the satellite acquisition geometry (along/cross track) were detected at two frequencies in the automatically generated ASTER DEMs. The higher frequency bias seems to be related to satellite jitter, most apparent in the backlooking pass of the satellite. The origins of the more significant lower frequency bias is uncertain. ICESat-derived elevations are found to be the most consistent globally available elevation data set available so far. Before performing regional-scale glacier elevation change studies or mosaicking DEMs from multiple individual tiles (e.g. ASTER GDEM), we recommend to co-register all elevation data to ICESat as a global vertical reference system.

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Increased ice losses from Antarctica detected by CryoSat-2

McMillan

Shepherd

Sundal

et al. 2014

Geophys. Res. Lett.

302

379

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We use 3 years of Cryosat-2 radar altimeter data to develop the first comprehensive assessment of Antarctic ice sheet elevation change. This new data set provides near-continuous (96%) coverage of the entire continent, extending to within 215 km of the South Pole and leading to a fivefold increase in the sampling of coastal regions where the vast majority of all ice losses occur. Between 2010 and 2013, West Antarctica, East Antarctica, and the Antarctic Peninsula changed in mass by À134 ± 27, À3 ± 36, and À23 ± 18 Gt yr À1 , respectively. In West Antarctica, signals of imbalance are present in areas that were poorly surveyed by past missions, contributing additional losses that bring altimeter observations closer to estimates based on other geodetic techniques. However, the average rate of ice thinning in West Antarctica has also continued to rise, and mass losses from this sector are now 31% greater than over the period 2005-2010.

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Recent elevation changes of Svalbard glaciers derived from ICESat laser altimetry

Cited by 264 publications

References 40 publications

Mass loss of Greenland's glaciers and ice caps 2003–2008 revealed from ICESat laser altimetry data

Mass loss of Greenland's glaciers and ice caps 2003–2008 revealed from ICESat laser altimetry data

Co-registration and bias corrections of satellite elevation data sets for quantifying glacier thickness change

Increased ice losses from Antarctica detected by CryoSat-2

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