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Changes in the Velocity Structure of the Greenland Ice Sheet
Eric Rignot1* and
Pannir Kanagaratnam2*
Using satellite radar interferometry observations of Greenland,we detected widespread glacier acceleration below 66° northbetween 1996 and 2000, which rapidly expanded to 70° northin 2005. Accelerated ice discharge in the west and particularlyin the east doubled the ice sheet mass deficit in the last decadefrom 90 to 220 cubic kilometers per year. As more glaciers acceleratefarther north, the contribution of Greenland to sea-level risewill continue to increase.
1 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Mail Stop 300-319, Pasadena, CA 91109–8099, USA. 2 Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS), University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: eric.rignot{at}jpl.nasa.gov (E.R), pannir{at}ku.edu (P.K.)
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