Envisat derived Elevation Changes of the Greenland Ice Sheet, and a Comparison with ICESat Results in the Accumulation Area.

Abstract:

We show that an along track method for deriving rates of elevation change can successfully be applied to Envisat radar altimetry data over Greenland (2002-2010). The results provide improved resolution and coverage compared to previous results obtained from cross-over methods.

Also, we find that temporal changes in the elevation change rate can be derived from Envisat data, and show clear examples of this by generating five-year running means for selected areas of the Greenland ice sheet.

For a period between 2003 and 2009, the elevation of the ice sheets was measured by both the laser altimeter on board ICESat and the radar altimeter on board Envisat. We compare rates of elevation change derived from ICESat and Envisat for this time span in which both sensors were operating. We focus on the area above the equilibrium line altitude, in order to specifically derive information on snow parameters. A comparison of the elevation changes observed by the two sensors shows a complex pattern, which can be explained regionally by model output describing the changes in both firn air content and accumulation rates.