Elevation change measurement of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, 1978 to 1988, from satellite radar altimetry

Author

Davis, Curtis H. ; Belu, Radian G. ; Feng, Gang

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. Eng., Missouri Univ., Columbia, MO, USA

Volume

39

Issue

3

fYear

2001

fDate

3/1/2001 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

635

Lastpage

644

Abstract

Seasat and Geosat satellite radar altimeter measurements over the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) are analyzed to determine surface elevation change over the period from 1978 to 1988. The results show that the average elevation change over 1.7 ×10⁶ km² of the EAIS is -0.4±1.8 cm/yr and is therefore not significantly different than zero. This result is in very good agreement with ERS-1/2 radar altimeter estimates of EAIS elevation change from 1992 to 1996. The combined results suggest that the EAIS has been close to a state of balance for two decades. This further reduces the likelihood that recent changes in snow accumulation have masked a long-term mass imbalance in the EAIS

Keywords

glaciology; AD 1978 to 1988; Antarctica; East Antarctic Ice Sheet; Geosat; Seasat; balance; elevation change; glaciology; height; polar ice sheet; radar remote sensing; satellite radar altimetry; stasis; surface elevation; thickness; Altimetry; Antarctica; Ice surface; Ocean temperature; Predictive models; Radar measurements; Satellites; Sea measurements; Sea surface; Spaceborne radar;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Geoscience and Remote Sensing, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0196-2892

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/36.911120

Filename

911120