Authors: Arendt, Anthony A.; Luthcke, Scott B.; Larsen, Christopher F.; Abdalati, Waleed; Krabill, William B.; Beedle, Matthew J.

Source: Journal of Glaciology, Volume 54, Number 188, December 2008 , pp. 778-787(10)

Publisher: International Glaciological Society

Abstract:

We acquired center-line surface elevations from glaciers in the St Elias Mountains of Alaska/northwestern Canada using aircraft laser altimetry during 2000-05, and compared these with repeat measurements acquired in 2007. The resulting elevation changes were used to estimate the mass balance of 32 900 km² of glaciers in the St Elias Mountains during September 2003 to August 2007, yielding a value of −21.2 ± 3.8 Gt a⁻¹, equivalent to an area-averaged mass balance of −0.64 ± 0.12 m a⁻¹ water equivalent (w.e.). High-resolution (2 arc-degrees spatial and 10 day temporal) Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mass-balance estimates during this time period were scaled to glaciers of the St Elias Mountains, yielding a value of −20.6 ± 3.0 Gt a⁻¹, or an area-averaged mass balance of −0.63 ± 0.09 m a⁻¹ w.e. The difference in balance estimates (altimetry minus GRACE) was −0.6 ± 4.8 Gt a⁻¹, well within the estimated errors. Differences likely resulted from uncertainties in subgrid sampling of the GRACE mass concentration (mascon) solutions, and from errors in assigning an appropriate near-surface density in the altimetry estimates. The good correspondence between GRACE and aircraft altimetry data suggests that high-resolution GRACE mascon solutions can be used to accurately assess mass-balance trends of mountain glacier regions that are undergoing large changes.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3189/002214308787780067

Publication date: 2008-12-01

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