Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Scientific Data
Mass balance of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets from the 1970s to 2023
Abstract
The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are major drivers of global mean sea level rise and are predicted to continue to do so in the future. However, they also represent the largest source of uncertainty in projections of future sea level rise making robust estimates of observed ice sheet mass changes critical. Here, we compare and combine 42 independent estimates of ice sheet mass balance derived from satellite observations of temporal changes in ice sheet flow, volume, and gravitational attraction to determine the ice sheet mass balance from 1972 (Greenland) and 1979 (Antarctica) until 2023. We then use regional climate models to partition the total mass balance into contributions associated with surface mass balance and ice dynamical imbalance. The ice sheets lost 11,309 ± 565 billion tonnes of ice between 1979 and 2023, with glacier dynamical imbalance driving 84% of the ice loss and surface mass balance the remainder. This dataset can be used to track the contribution of the ice sheets to sea level rise and constrain projections of future sea level rise.
Related
- Dry snow initialization and densification over the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets in the ORCHIDEE land surface model
- Diverging runoff drives uncertainty in Antarctic surface mass balance projections under a high emission scenario
- Impact of blowing snow on the surface radiation balance near the western margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet
- Antarctic sea ice response to meltwater due to Antarctic ice sheet mass loss in a multi-model ensemble
- Greenland's annual and interannual mass variations from GRACE/GRACE-FO linked with climatic indices
BibTeX
@article{otosaka2026mass,
title = {{Mass balance of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets from the 1970s to 2023}},
author = {Inès Otosaka and Andrew Shepherd and Charles Amory and Martin Horwath and Erik Ivins and Michalea King and Sophie Nowicki and Anthony Payne and Eric Rignot and Louise Sandberg Sørensen and Nicole-Jeanne Schlegel and Karen Simon and Benjamin E. Smith and Tyler Sutterley and Michiel van den Broeke and Isabella Velicogna and Geruo A and Cécile Agosta and Pavel Ditmar and Thorben Döhne and Marcus Engdahl and Xavier Fettweis and Rene Forsberg and Alex Gardner and Linda Gilbert and Heiko Goelzer and Noel Gourmelen and Andreas Groh and Nicolaj Hansen and Christopher Harig and Veit Helm and Shfaqat Abbas Khan and Christoph Kittel and Peter Langen and Mathias Larsen and Bryant Loomis and Malcolm Mcmillan and Brooke Medley and Daniele Melini and Ruth Mottram and Alan Muir and Johan Nilsson and Brice Noël and Mark Pattle and Mònica Roca I Aparici and Ingo Sasgen and Himanshu Save and Bernd Scheuchl and Ernst Schrama and Ludwig Schröder and Ki-Weon Seo and Sebastian Simonsen and Thomas Slater and Giorgio Spada and Bramha Dutt Vishwakarma and Nander Wever and David Wiese and Bert Wouters},
journal = {Scientific Data},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1038/s41597-026-08088-0},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05760888v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Mass balance of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets from the 1970s to 2023
AU - Inès Otosaka
AU - Andrew Shepherd
AU - Charles Amory
AU - Martin Horwath
AU - Erik Ivins
AU - Michalea King
AU - Sophie Nowicki
AU - Anthony Payne
AU - Eric Rignot
AU - Louise Sandberg Sørensen
AU - Nicole-Jeanne Schlegel
AU - Karen Simon
AU - Benjamin E. Smith
AU - Tyler Sutterley
AU - Michiel van den Broeke
AU - Isabella Velicogna
AU - Geruo A
AU - Cécile Agosta
AU - Pavel Ditmar
AU - Thorben Döhne
AU - Marcus Engdahl
AU - Xavier Fettweis
AU - Rene Forsberg
AU - Alex Gardner
AU - Linda Gilbert
AU - Heiko Goelzer
AU - Noel Gourmelen
AU - Andreas Groh
AU - Nicolaj Hansen
AU - Christopher Harig
AU - Veit Helm
AU - Shfaqat Abbas Khan
AU - Christoph Kittel
AU - Peter Langen
AU - Mathias Larsen
AU - Bryant Loomis
AU - Malcolm Mcmillan
AU - Brooke Medley
AU - Daniele Melini
AU - Ruth Mottram
AU - Alan Muir
AU - Johan Nilsson
AU - Brice Noël
AU - Mark Pattle
AU - Mònica Roca I Aparici
AU - Ingo Sasgen
AU - Himanshu Save
AU - Bernd Scheuchl
AU - Ernst Schrama
AU - Ludwig Schröder
AU - Ki-Weon Seo
AU - Sebastian Simonsen
AU - Thomas Slater
AU - Giorgio Spada
AU - Bramha Dutt Vishwakarma
AU - Nander Wever
AU - David Wiese
AU - Bert Wouters
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/16
JO - Scientific Data
DO - 10.1038/s41597-026-08088-0
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05760888v1
AB - The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are major drivers of global mean sea level rise and are predicted to continue to do so in the future. However, they also represent the largest source of uncertainty in projections of future sea level rise making robust estimates of observed ice sheet mass changes critical. Here, we compare and combine 42 independent estimates of ice sheet mass balance derived from satellite observations of temporal changes in ice sheet flow, volume, and gravitational attraction to determine the ice sheet mass balance from 1972 (Greenland) and 1979 (Antarctica) until 2023. We then use regional climate models to partition the total mass balance into contributions associated with surface mass balance and ice dynamical imbalance. The ice sheets lost 11,309 ± 565 billion tonnes of ice between 1979 and 2023, with glacier dynamical imbalance driving 84% of the ice loss and surface mass balance the remainder. This dataset can be used to track the contribution of the ice sheets to sea level rise and constrain projections of future sea level rise.
SN - 2052-4463
ER -