Snowfall-driven growth in East Antarctic ice sheet mitigates recent sea-level rise.
Satellite radar altimetry measurements indicate that the East Antarctic ice-sheet interior north of 81.6 degrees S increased in mass by 45 +/- 7 billion metric tons per year from 1992 to 2003. Comparisons with contemporaneous meteorological model snowfall estimates suggest that the gain in mass was associated with increased precipitation. A gain of this magnitude is enough to slow sea-level rise by 0.12 +/- 0.02 millimeters per year.
Davis
Curt H
CH
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. davisch@missouri.edu
Li
Yonghong
Y
McConnell
Joseph R
JR
Frey
Markus M
MM
Hanna
Edward
E