Rights statement: An edited version of this paper was published by AGU. Copyright 2019 American Geophysical Union. Otosaka, I., Shepherd, A., & McMillan, M. ( 2019). Ice Sheet Elevation Change in West Antarctica From Ka‐Band Satellite Radar Altimetry. Geophysical Research Letters, 46, 13135– 13143. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL084271 To view the published open abstract, go to http://dx.doi.org and enter the DOI.
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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Ice Sheet Elevation Change in West Antarctica From Ka-Band Satellite Radar Altimetry
AU - Otosaka, Ines
AU - Shepherd, Andrew
AU - McMillan, Malcolm
N1 - An edited version of this paper was published by AGU. Copyright 2019 American Geophysical Union. Otosaka, I., Shepherd, A., & McMillan, M. ( 2019). Ice Sheet Elevation Change in West Antarctica From Ka‐Band Satellite Radar Altimetry. Geophysical Research Letters, 46, 13135– 13143. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL084271 To view the published open abstract, go to http://dx.doi.org and enter the DOI.
PY - 2019/11/28
Y1 - 2019/11/28
N2 - Satellite altimetry has been used to track changes in ice sheet elevation using a series of Ku‐band radars in orbit since the late 1970s. Here, we produce an assessment of higher‐frequency Ka‐band satellite radar altimetry for the same purpose, using SARAL/AltiKa measurements recorded over West Antarctica. AltiKa elevations are 3.8 ± 0.5 and 2.5 ± 0.1 m higher than those determined from airborne laser altimetry and CryoSat‐2, respectively, likely due to the instruments' coarser footprint in the sloping coastal margins. However, AltiKa rates of elevation change computed between 2013 and 2019 are within 0.6 ± 2.4 and 0.1 ± 0.1 cm/year of airborne laser and CryoSat‐2, respectively, indicating that trends in radar penetration are negligible. The fast‐flowing trunks of the Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers thinned by 117 ± 10 and 100 ± 20 cm/year, respectively, amounting to a 9% reduction and a 43% increase relative to the 2000s.
AB - Satellite altimetry has been used to track changes in ice sheet elevation using a series of Ku‐band radars in orbit since the late 1970s. Here, we produce an assessment of higher‐frequency Ka‐band satellite radar altimetry for the same purpose, using SARAL/AltiKa measurements recorded over West Antarctica. AltiKa elevations are 3.8 ± 0.5 and 2.5 ± 0.1 m higher than those determined from airborne laser altimetry and CryoSat‐2, respectively, likely due to the instruments' coarser footprint in the sloping coastal margins. However, AltiKa rates of elevation change computed between 2013 and 2019 are within 0.6 ± 2.4 and 0.1 ± 0.1 cm/year of airborne laser and CryoSat‐2, respectively, indicating that trends in radar penetration are negligible. The fast‐flowing trunks of the Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers thinned by 117 ± 10 and 100 ± 20 cm/year, respectively, amounting to a 9% reduction and a 43% increase relative to the 2000s.
KW - cryosphere
KW - ice sheets
KW - Antarctica
KW - altimetry
KW - ice
U2 - 10.1029/2019GL084271
DO - 10.1029/2019GL084271
M3 - Journal article
VL - 46
SP - 13135
EP - 13143
JO - Geophysical Research Letters
JF - Geophysical Research Letters
SN - 0094-8276
IS - 22
ER -