Environment Counts | Satellite data indicates West Antarctica is losing 150 cubic km of ice annually :

Published by on Tuesday, January 24th, 2017

Published
by geoff
on 2013-12-11

Esa’s Cryosat-2 satellite uses radar altimetry to measure ice loss. Before Cryosat two decades of radar altimetry have shown accelerating mass losses from the Amundsen Sea Sector of West Antarctica. CryoSat-2 is able to continue measurements following the retirement of the ERS-2 satellite in 2011 and the loss of Envisat in 2012. This article derives ice sheet elevation, volume and mass changes during the period 2010-2013, focussing upon the Amundsen Sea Sector of West Antarctica. The authors report that West Antarctica continues to lose ice to the ocean and the loss appears to be accelerating,especially along along the fast-flowing ice streams and tributaries, with rates of 4-8 m/yr near the grounding lines of the Pine Island, Thwaites and Smith Glaciers. The region is estimated to be losing over 150 cubic km of ice to the sea annually. AGU Fall Meeting 2013

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