Tracking glacier change requires frequent and detailed measurements of their surface. We use machine learning to combine complementary satellite observations and produce glacier elevations every three months at 100 m resolution across the Canadian Arctic. The resulting elevations are substantially more accurate than the original satellite measurements and reveal detailed changes over time, including the evolution of glacier surges.

We studied the Holocene (past 11 700 years) to understand how the Greenland Ice Sheet has changed. Using 841 computer simulations, we tested different scenarios and matched them to historical ice elevation data, confirming our model's accuracy. Results show that Greenland's melting has raised sea levels by about 5.3 m since the Holocene began and by around 12 mm in just the past 500 years.