Four Decades of Antarctic Ice Sheet Mass Balance from 1979-2017

Overview

Journal Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Specialty Science

Date 2019 Jan 16

PMID 30642972

Citations 82

Authors

Eric Rignot

Jeremie Mouginot

Bernd Scheuchl

Michiel van den Broeke

Melchior J van Wessem

Mathieu Morlighem

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

We use updated drainage inventory, ice thickness, and ice velocity data to calculate the grounding line ice discharge of 176 basins draining the Antarctic Ice Sheet from 1979 to 2017. We compare the results with a surface mass balance model to deduce the ice sheet mass balance. The total mass loss increased from 40 ± 9 Gt/y in 1979-1990 to 50 ± 14 Gt/y in 1989-2000, 166 ± 18 Gt/y in 1999-2009, and 252 ± 26 Gt/y in 2009-2017. In 2009-2017, the mass loss was dominated by the Amundsen/Bellingshausen Sea sectors, in West Antarctica (159 ± 8 Gt/y), Wilkes Land, in East Antarctica (51 ± 13 Gt/y), and West and Northeast Peninsula (42 ± 5 Gt/y). The contribution to sea-level rise from Antarctica averaged 3.6 ± 0.5 mm per decade with a cumulative 14.0 ± 2.0 mm since 1979, including 6.9 ± 0.6 mm from West Antarctica, 4.4 ± 0.9 mm from East Antarctica, and 2.5 ± 0.4 mm from the Peninsula (i.e., East Antarctica is a major participant in the mass loss). During the entire period, the mass loss concentrated in areas closest to warm, salty, subsurface, circumpolar deep water (CDW), that is, consistent with enhanced polar westerlies pushing CDW toward Antarctica to melt its floating ice shelves, destabilize the glaciers, and raise sea level.

Citing Articles

The influence of subglacial lake discharge on Thwaites Glacier ice-shelf melting and grounding-line retreat.

Gourmelen N, Jakob L, Holland P, Dutrieux P, Goldberg D, Bevan S Nat Commun. 2025; 16(1):2272.

PMID: 40050272 PMC: 11885594. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57417-1.

Century-long West Antarctic snow accumulation changes induced by tropical teleconnections.

Man K, Luterbacher J, Holland D, Yuan N, Geng L, Wang Y Sci Adv. 2025; 11(5):eadr2821.

PMID: 39879299 PMC: 11777206. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adr2821.

Bathymetry of the Antarctic continental shelf and ice shelf cavities from circumpolar gravity anomalies and other data.

Charrassin R, Millan R, Rignot E, Scheinert M Sci Rep. 2025; 15(1):1214.

PMID: 39774781 PMC: 11707401. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-81599-1.

Cascading tipping points of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.

Kubiszewski I, Adams V, Baird R, Boothroyd A, Costanza R, MacDonald D Ambio. 2024; 54(4):642-659.

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Winter thermohaline evolution along and below the Ross Ice Shelf.

Falco P, Krauzig N, Castagno P, Garzia A, Martellucci R, Cotroneo Y Nat Commun. 2024; 15(1):10581.

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