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Originally published in Science Express on 19 October 2006
Science 24 November 2006:
Vol. 314. no. 5803, pp. 1286 - 1289
DOI: 10.1126/science.1130776
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Reports

Recent Greenland Ice Mass Loss by Drainage System from Satellite Gravity Observations

S. B. Luthcke,1* H. J. Zwally,2 W. Abdalati,2 D. D. Rowlands,1 R. D. Ray,1 R. S. Nerem,3 F. G. Lemoine,1 J. J. McCarthy,4 D. S. Chinn4

Mass changes of the Greenland Ice Sheet resolved by drainage system regions were derived from a local mass concentration analysis of NASA–Deutsches Zentrum für Luftund Raumfahrt Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE mission) observations. From 2003 to 2005, the ice sheet lost 101 ± 16 gigaton/year, with a gain of 54 gigaton/year above 2000 meters and a loss of 155 gigaton/year at lower elevations. The lower elevations show a large seasonal cycle, with mass losses during summer melting followed by gains from fall through spring. The overall rate of loss reflects a considerable change in trend (–113 ± 17 gigaton/year) from a near balance during the 1990s but is smaller than some other recent estimates.

1 Planetary Geodynamics Laboratory, Code 698, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
2 Cryospheric Sciences Branch, Code 614.1, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
3 Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
4 Science Division, SGT Incorporated, Greenbelt, MD 20770, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: Scott.B.Luthcke{at}nasa.gov

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