Excluding the large ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica, glaciers in South America are large contributors to sea-level rise(1). Their rates of mass loss, however, are poorly known. Here, using repeat bi-static synthetic aperture radar interferometry over the years 2000 to 2011/2015, we compute continent-wide, glacier-specific elevation and mass changes for 85% of the glacierized area of South America. Mass loss rate is calculated to be 19.43 +/- 0.60 Gt a(-1) from elevation changes above ground, sea or lake level, with an additional 3.06 +/- 1.24 Gt a(-1) from subaqueous ice mass loss not contributing to sea-level rise. The largest contributions come from the Patagonian icefields, where 83% mass loss occurs, largely from dynamic adjustments of large glaciers. These changes contribute 0.054 +/- 0.002 mm a(-1) to sea-level rise. In comparison with previous studies(2), tropical and out-tropical glaciers - as well as those in Tierra del Fuego - show considerably less ice loss. These results provide basic information to calibrate and validate glacier-climate models and also for decision-makers in water resource management(3).
1.Friedrich Alexander Univ Erlangen Nurnberg, Inst Geog, Erlangen, Germany 2.Univ Magallanes, Ctr Invest Gaia Antartica, Punta Arenas, Chile 3.Minist Obras Publ, Direcc Gen Aguas, Santiago, Chile 4.Univ Mayor San Andres, Inst Invest Geol & Medio Ambiente, La Paz, Bolivia 5.Ctr Interpretac Glaciares, Glaciarium, El Calafate, Argentina
Recommended Citation:
Braun, Matthias H.,Malz, Philipp,Sommer, Christian,et al. Constraining glacier elevation and mass changes in South America[J]. NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE,2019-01-01,9(2):130-+