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Originally published in Science Express on 19 May 2005
Science 24 June 2005:
Vol. 308. no. 5730, pp. 1898 - 1901
DOI: 10.1126/science.1110662
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Reports

Snowfall-Driven Growth in East Antarctic Ice Sheet Mitigates Recent Sea-Level Rise

Curt H. Davis,1* Yonghong Li,1 Joseph R. McConnell,2 Markus M. Frey,3 Edward Hanna4

Satellite radar altimetry measurements indicate that the East Antarctic ice-sheet interior north of 81.6°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.

1 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Missouri–Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
2 Desert Research Institute, University and Community College System of Nevada, Reno, NV 89512, USA.
3 Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
4 Department of Geography, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: davisch{at}missouri.edu

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Elevation Changes in Antarctica Mainly Determined by Accumulation Variability.
M. M. Helsen, M. R. van den Broeke, R. S. W. van de Wal, W. J. van de Berg, E. van Meijgaard, C. H. Davis, Y. Li, and I. Goodwin (2008)
Science 320, 1626-1629
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First exposure ages from the Amundsen Sea Embayment, West Antarctica: The Late Quaternary context for recent thinning of Pine Island, Smith, and Pope Glaciers.
J. S. Johnson, M. J. Bentley, and K. Gohl (2008)
Geology 36, 223-226
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Exposure ages from mountain dipsticks in Mac. Robertson Land, East Antarctica, indicate little change in ice-sheet thickness since the Last Glacial Maximum.
A. Mackintosh, D. White, D. Fink, D. B. Gore, J. Pickard, and P. C. Fanning (2007)
Geology 35, 551-554
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Recent Sea-Level Contributions of the Antarctic and Greenland Ice Sheets.
A. Shepherd and D. Wingham (2007)
Science 315, 1529-1532
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Sea levels: change and variability during warm intervals.
R. Edwards (2006)
Progress in Physical Geography 30, 785-796
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Insignificant change in Antarctic snowfall since the International Geophysical Year..
A. J. Monaghan, D. H. Bromwich, R. L. Fogt, S.-H. Wang, P. A. Mayewski, D. A. Dixon, A. Ekaykin, M. Frezzotti, I. Goodwin, E. Isaksson, et al. (2006)
Science 313, 827-831
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Glaciers.
D. I. Benn (2006)
Progress in Physical Geography 30, 432-442
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Paleoclimatic evidence for future ice-sheet instability and rapid sea-level rise..
J. T. Overpeck, B. L. Otto-Bliesner, G. H. Miller, D. R. Muhs, R. B. Alley, and J. T. Kiehl (2006)
Science 311, 1747-1750
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Ice-Sheet and Sea-Level Changes.
R. B. Alley, P. U. Clark, P. Huybrechts, and I. Joughin (2005)
Science 310, 456-460
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)