PROMICE Observations 2014-15

Abstract:

The Programme for monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE) is as an on-going effort to monitor changes in the mass budget of the Greenland Ice Sheet .

A central part of PROMICE is the network of presently 22 automatic weather stations (AWS) situated in the ablation zone of the Greenland ice sheet. In combination with air borne surveys of ice thickness and mapping of ice velocities estimates of the mass loss of the Greenland ice sheet can be made. Also mapping of individual glaciers and ice caps surrounding the ice sheet is done to assess the mass loss. The PROMICE data can be used directly as indicators of climate change - becoming more and more valuable as the monitoring period increases. Furthermore the programme contributes through observations to process-oriented studies to understand the mass loss as well as validation efforts to improve ice sheet models and future predictions.

PROMICE is committed to maintain an accessible, safe and thoroughly documented database for storing and disseminating the data free of charge to the climate research community at www.promice.org.

Here we present an update on observations and results from the 2014-2015 season.