November 30, 2012

satellite measurement of ice loss in Greenland and the Antarctic

Ice sheet loss from Greenland and the Antarctic will contribute to sea level rise.  A new study published in Science combines multiple satellite data to estimate the mass balance of Earth’s polar ice sheets and its effect on sea level.

The Ice Sheet Mass Balance Inter-comparison Exercise (IMBIE) is a collaboration between 47 researchers from 26 laboratories, and was supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

It gives the clearest picture yet of the extent and rate of ice loss since 1992, improving on the precision of IPCC AR4 estimates and ending much uncertainty on the subject.

Speakers:

Prof Andrew Shepherd, Professor of Earth Observation at the University of Leeds

Prof Michiel van den Broeke, Professor of Polar Meteorology at Utrecht University

Dr Hamish Pritchard, Glaciologist at British Antarctic Survey