Brief communication: Recent estimates of glacier mass loss for western North America from laser altimetry

The Cryosphere
By: , and 

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Abstract

Glaciers in western North American outside of Alaska are often overlooked in global studies because their potential to contribute to changes in sea level is small. Nonetheless, these glaciers represent important sources of freshwater, especially during times of drought. Differencing recent ICESat-2 data from a digital elevation model derived from a combination of synthetic aperture radar data (TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X), we find that over the period 2013–2020, glaciers in western North America lost mass at a rate of  Gt yr−1. This rate is comparable to the rate of mass loss ( Gt yr−1) for the period 2018–2022 calculated through trend analysis using ICESat-2 and Global Ecosystems Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) data.

Study Area

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Brief communication: Recent estimates of glacier mass loss for western North America from laser altimetry
Series title The Cryosphere
DOI 10.5194/tc-18-889-2024
Volume 18
Issue 2
Year Published 2024
Language English
Publisher European Geosciences Union
Contributing office(s) Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center
Description 6 p.
First page 889
Last page 894
Country Canada, United States
Other Geospatial western North America
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