Mass-change And Geosciences International Constellation (MAGIC) expected impact on science and applications

The joint ESA/NASA Mass-change And Geosciences International Constellation (MAGIC) has the objective to extend time-series from previous gravity missions, including an improvement of accuracy and spatio-temporal resolution. The long-term monitoring of Earth’s gravity field carries information on mass change induced by water cycle, climate...

Measuring glacier mass changes from space: a review

Glaciers distinct from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are currently losing mass rapidly with direct and severe impacts on the habitability of some regions on Earth as glacier meltwater contributes to sea-level rise and alters regional water resources in arid regions. In this review, we present the different techniques developed during...

Remote Sensing of Surface Melt on Antarctica: Opportunities and Challenges

Surface melt is an important driver of ice shelf disintegration and its consequent mass loss over the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Monitoring surface melt using satellite remote sensing can enhance our understanding of ice shelf stability. However, the sensors do not measure the actual physical process of surface melt, but rather observe the presence...

Separating Long-Term and Short-Term Mass Changes of Antarctic Ice Drainage Basins: A Coupled State Space Analysis of Satellite Observations and Model Products

Satellite gravimetry and altimetry measurements record gravity and elevation changes, respectively, which are useful for determining mass and volume change of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Common methods employ products from regional climate modeling and firn modeling to aid interpretation and to link volume changes to mass changes. Estimating...

Present Day Regional Mass Loss of Greenland Observed with Satellite Gravimetry

This paper summarizes results obtained for Greenland’s mass balance observed with NASA’s GRACE mission. We estimate a Greenland ice sheet mass loss at ?201 ± 19 Gt/year including a discernible acceleration of ?8 ± 7 Gt/year2 between March 2003 and February 2010. The mass loss of glacier systems on the South East of Greenland has slowed down...

Identification and Modeling of Sea Level Change Contributors: On GRACE satellite gravity data and their applications to climate monitoring

Since early 2002, the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) twin satellite mission provide the scientific community with accurate monthly maps of the Earth's gravity field. On short time-scale, the observed variations are mainly related to a redistribution of water on the Earth's surface. This new data set has lead to a leap forward in...