Articles | Volume 19, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1221-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1221-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
14 Mar 2025
Research article |
| 14 Mar 2025
| 14 Mar 2025
Greenland Ice Sheet surface roughness from Ku- and Ka-band radar altimetry surface echo strengths
DTU Space, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, 2800, Denmark
Anja Rutishauser
Department of Glaciology and Climate, Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Copenhagen, 1350, Denmark
Sebastian B. Simonsen
DTU Space, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, 2800, Denmark
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The Greenland Ice Sheet interior is covered by a layer of firn, which is important for surface meltwater runoff and contributions to global sea-level rise. Here, we combine airborne radar sounding and laser altimetry measurements to delineate vertically homogeneous and heterogeneous firn. Our results reveal changes in firn between 2011–2019, aligning well with known climatic events. This approach can be used to outline firn areas primed for significantly changing future meltwater runoff.
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An airborne campaign collected unprecedented coincident multi-frequency radar and lidar data over sea ice along a CryoSat-2 and ICESat-2 (CRYO2ICE) orbit in the Weddell Sea, useful for evaluating microwave snow penetration. Ka-band and Ku-band had limited penetration with significant contributions from the air–snow interface, contradicting traditional assumptions with discrepancies between commonly used C/S-band "snow-radar" methodologies, all challenging comparisons of airborne and spaceborne estimates.
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Anna Puggaard, Nicolaj Hansen, Ruth Mottram, Thomas Nagler, Stefan Scheiblauer, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Louise S. Sørensen, Jan Wuite, and Anne M. Solgaard
The Cryosphere, 19, 2963–2981, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2963-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2963-2025, 2025
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Penelope How, Dorthe Petersen, Kristian Kjellerup Kjeldsen, Katrine Raundrup, Nanna Bjørnholt Karlsson, Alexandra Messerli, Anja Rutishauser, Jonathan Lee Carrivick, James M. Lea, Robert Schjøtt Fausto, Andreas Peter Ahlstrøm, and Signe Bech Andersen
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-18, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-18, 2025
Revised manuscript accepted for ESSD
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Ice-marginal lakes around Greenland temporarily store glacial meltwater, affecting sea level rise, glacier dynamics and ecosystems. Our study presents an eight-year inventory (2016–2023) of 2918 lakes, mapping their size, abundance, and surface water temperature. This openly available dataset supports future research on sea level projections, lake-driven glacier melting, and sustainable resource planning, including hydropower development under Greenland's climate commitments.
Mai Winstrup, Heidi Ranndal, Signe Hillerup Larsen, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Kenneth D. Mankoff, Robert S. Fausto, and Louise Sandberg Sørensen
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 5405–5428, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5405-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5405-2024, 2024
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Surface topography across the marginal zone of the Greenland Ice Sheet is constantly evolving. Here we present an annual series (2019–2022) of summer digital elevation models (PRODEMs) for the Greenland Ice Sheet margin, covering all outlet glaciers from the ice sheet. The PRODEMs are based on fusion of CryoSat-2 radar altimetry and ICESat-2 laser altimetry. With their high spatial and temporal resolution, the PRODEMs will enable detailed studies of the changes in marginal ice sheet elevations.
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Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 4103–4118, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-4103-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-4103-2024, 2024
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The Greenland Ecosystem Monitoring programme has been running since 1995. In 2008, the Glaciological monitoring sub-program GlacioBasis was initiated at the Zackenberg site in northeast Greenland, with a transect of three weather stations on the A. P. Olsen Ice Cap. In 2022, the weather stations were replaced with a more standardized set up. Here, we provide the reprocessed and quality-checked data from 2008 to 2022, i.e., the first 15 years of continued monitoring.
Siobhan F. Killingbeck, Anja Rutishauser, Martyn J. Unsworth, Ashley Dubnick, Alison S. Criscitiello, James Killingbeck, Christine F. Dow, Tim Hill, Adam D. Booth, Brittany Main, and Eric Brossier
The Cryosphere, 18, 3699–3722, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3699-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3699-2024, 2024
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A subglacial lake was proposed to exist beneath Devon Ice Cap in the Canadian Arctic based on the analysis of airborne data. Our study presents a new interpretation of the subglacial material beneath the Devon Ice Cap from surface-based geophysical data. We show that there is no evidence of subglacial water, and the subglacial lake has likely been misidentified. Re-evaluation of the airborne data shows that overestimation of a critical processing parameter has likely occurred in prior studies.
Nicolaj Hansen, Andrew Orr, Xun Zou, Fredrik Boberg, Thomas J. Bracegirdle, Ella Gilbert, Peter L. Langen, Matthew A. Lazzara, Ruth Mottram, Tony Phillips, Ruth Price, Sebastian B. Simonsen, and Stuart Webster
The Cryosphere, 18, 2897–2916, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2897-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2897-2024, 2024
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We investigated a melt event over the Ross Ice Shelf. We use regional climate models and a firn model to simulate the melt and compare the results with satellite data. We find that the firn model aligned well with observed melt days in certain parts of the ice shelf. The firn model had challenges accurately simulating the melt extent in the western sector. We identified potential reasons for these discrepancies, pointing to limitations in the models related to representing the cloud properties.
Anja Rutishauser, Kirk M. Scanlan, Baptiste Vandecrux, Nanna B. Karlsson, Nicolas Jullien, Andreas P. Ahlstrøm, Robert S. Fausto, and Penelope How
The Cryosphere, 18, 2455–2472, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2455-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2455-2024, 2024
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The Greenland Ice Sheet interior is covered by a layer of firn, which is important for surface meltwater runoff and contributions to global sea-level rise. Here, we combine airborne radar sounding and laser altimetry measurements to delineate vertically homogeneous and heterogeneous firn. Our results reveal changes in firn between 2011–2019, aligning well with known climatic events. This approach can be used to outline firn areas primed for significantly changing future meltwater runoff.
Louise Sandberg Sørensen, Rasmus Bahbah, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Natalia Havelund Andersen, Jade Bowling, Noel Gourmelen, Alex Horton, Nanna B. Karlsson, Amber Leeson, Jennifer Maddalena, Malcolm McMillan, Anne Solgaard, and Birgit Wessel
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Baptiste Vandecrux, Jason E. Box, Andreas P. Ahlstrøm, Signe B. Andersen, Nicolas Bayou, William T. Colgan, Nicolas J. Cullen, Robert S. Fausto, Dominik Haas-Artho, Achim Heilig, Derek A. Houtz, Penelope How, Ionut Iosifescu Enescu, Nanna B. Karlsson, Rebecca Kurup Buchholz, Kenneth D. Mankoff, Daniel McGrath, Noah P. Molotch, Bianca Perren, Maiken K. Revheim, Anja Rutishauser, Kevin Sampson, Martin Schneebeli, Sandy Starkweather, Simon Steffen, Jeff Weber, Patrick J. Wright, Henry Jay Zwally, and Konrad Steffen
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The Greenland Climate Network (GC-Net) comprises stations that have been monitoring the weather on the Greenland Ice Sheet for over 30 years. These stations are being replaced by newer ones maintained by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS). The historical data were reprocessed to improve their quality, and key information about the weather stations has been compiled. This augmented dataset is available at https://doi.org/10.22008/FK2/VVXGUT (Steffen et al., 2022).
Nicolaj Hansen, Louise Sandberg Sørensen, Giorgio Spada, Daniele Melini, Rene Forsberg, Ruth Mottram, and Sebastian B. Simonsen
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2023-104, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2023-104, 2023
Preprint withdrawn
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We use ICESat-2 to estimate the surface elevation change over Greenland and Antarctica in the period of 2018 to 2021. Numerical models have been used the compute the firn compaction and the vertical bedrock movement so non-mass-related elevation changes can be taken into account. We have made a parameterization of the surface density so we can convert the volume change to mass change. We find that Antarctica has lost 135.7±27.3 Gt per year, and the Greenland ice sheet 237.5±14.0 Gt per year.
Kristian Chan, Cyril Grima, Anja Rutishauser, Duncan A. Young, Riley Culberg, and Donald D. Blankenship
The Cryosphere, 17, 1839–1852, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1839-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1839-2023, 2023
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Climate warming has led to more surface meltwater produced on glaciers that can refreeze in firn to form ice layers. Our work evaluates the use of dual-frequency ice-penetrating radar to characterize these ice layers on the Devon Ice Cap. Results indicate that they are meters thick and widespread, and thus capable of supporting lateral meltwater runoff from the top of ice layers. We find that some of this meltwater runoff could be routed through supraglacial rivers in the ablation zone.
Inès N. Otosaka, Andrew Shepherd, Erik R. Ivins, Nicole-Jeanne Schlegel, Charles Amory, Michiel R. van den Broeke, Martin Horwath, Ian Joughin, Michalea D. King, Gerhard Krinner, Sophie Nowicki, Anthony J. Payne, Eric Rignot, Ted Scambos, Karen M. Simon, Benjamin E. Smith, Louise S. Sørensen, Isabella Velicogna, Pippa L. Whitehouse, Geruo A, Cécile Agosta, Andreas P. Ahlstrøm, Alejandro Blazquez, William Colgan, Marcus E. Engdahl, Xavier Fettweis, Rene Forsberg, Hubert Gallée, Alex Gardner, Lin Gilbert, Noel Gourmelen, Andreas Groh, Brian C. Gunter, Christopher Harig, Veit Helm, Shfaqat Abbas Khan, Christoph Kittel, Hannes Konrad, Peter L. Langen, Benoit S. Lecavalier, Chia-Chun Liang, Bryant D. Loomis, Malcolm McMillan, Daniele Melini, Sebastian H. Mernild, Ruth Mottram, Jeremie Mouginot, Johan Nilsson, Brice Noël, Mark E. Pattle, William R. Peltier, Nadege Pie, Mònica Roca, Ingo Sasgen, Himanshu V. Save, Ki-Weon Seo, Bernd Scheuchl, Ernst J. O. Schrama, Ludwig Schröder, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Thomas Slater, Giorgio Spada, Tyler C. Sutterley, Bramha Dutt Vishwakarma, Jan Melchior van Wessem, David Wiese, Wouter van der Wal, and Bert Wouters
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 1597–1616, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1597-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1597-2023, 2023
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By measuring changes in the volume, gravitational attraction, and ice flow of Greenland and Antarctica from space, we can monitor their mass gain and loss over time. Here, we present a new record of the Earth’s polar ice sheet mass balance produced by aggregating 50 satellite-based estimates of ice sheet mass change. This new assessment shows that the ice sheets have lost (7.5 x 1012) t of ice between 1992 and 2020, contributing 21 mm to sea level rise.
Nicolaj Hansen, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Fredrik Boberg, Christoph Kittel, Andrew Orr, Niels Souverijns, J. Melchior van Wessem, and Ruth Mottram
The Cryosphere, 16, 711–718, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-711-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-711-2022, 2022
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We investigate the impact of different ice masks when modelling surface mass balance over Antarctica. We used ice masks and data from five of the most used regional climate models and a common mask. We see large disagreement between the ice masks, which has a large impact on the surface mass balance, especially around the Antarctic Peninsula and some of the largest glaciers. We suggest a solution for creating a new, up-to-date, high-resolution ice mask that can be used in Antarctic modelling.
Martin Horwath, Benjamin D. Gutknecht, Anny Cazenave, Hindumathi Kulaiappan Palanisamy, Florence Marti, Ben Marzeion, Frank Paul, Raymond Le Bris, Anna E. Hogg, Inès Otosaka, Andrew Shepherd, Petra Döll, Denise Cáceres, Hannes Müller Schmied, Johnny A. Johannessen, Jan Even Øie Nilsen, Roshin P. Raj, René Forsberg, Louise Sandberg Sørensen, Valentina R. Barletta, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Per Knudsen, Ole Baltazar Andersen, Heidi Ranndal, Stine K. Rose, Christopher J. Merchant, Claire R. Macintosh, Karina von Schuckmann, Kristin Novotny, Andreas Groh, Marco Restano, and Jérôme Benveniste
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 411–447, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-411-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-411-2022, 2022
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Global mean sea-level change observed from 1993 to 2016 (mean rate of 3.05 mm yr−1) matches the combined effect of changes in water density (thermal expansion) and ocean mass. Ocean-mass change has been assessed through the contributions from glaciers, ice sheets, and land water storage or directly from satellite data since 2003. Our budget assessments of linear trends and monthly anomalies utilise new datasets and uncertainty characterisations developed within ESA's Climate Change Initiative.
Anja Rutishauser, Donald D. Blankenship, Duncan A. Young, Natalie S. Wolfenbarger, Lucas H. Beem, Mark L. Skidmore, Ashley Dubnick, and Alison S. Criscitiello
The Cryosphere, 16, 379–395, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-379-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-379-2022, 2022
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Recently, a hypersaline subglacial lake complex was hypothesized to lie beneath Devon Ice Cap, Canadian Arctic. Here, we present results from a follow-on targeted aerogeophysical survey. Our results support the evidence for a hypersaline subglacial lake and reveal an extensive brine network, suggesting more complex subglacial hydrological conditions than previously inferred. This hypersaline system may host microbial habitats, making it a compelling analog for bines on other icy worlds.
Kenneth D. Mankoff, Xavier Fettweis, Peter L. Langen, Martin Stendel, Kristian K. Kjeldsen, Nanna B. Karlsson, Brice Noël, Michiel R. van den Broeke, Anne Solgaard, William Colgan, Jason E. Box, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Michalea D. King, Andreas P. Ahlstrøm, Signe Bech Andersen, and Robert S. Fausto
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 5001–5025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-5001-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-5001-2021, 2021
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We estimate the daily mass balance and its components (surface, marine, and basal mass balance) for the Greenland ice sheet. Our time series begins in 1840 and has annual resolution through 1985 and then daily from 1986 through next week. Results are operational (updated daily) and provided for the entire ice sheet or by commonly used regions or sectors. This is the first input–output mass balance estimate to include the basal mass balance.
Nicolaj Hansen, Peter L. Langen, Fredrik Boberg, Rene Forsberg, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Peter Thejll, Baptiste Vandecrux, and Ruth Mottram
The Cryosphere, 15, 4315–4333, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4315-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4315-2021, 2021
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We have used computer models to estimate the Antarctic surface mass balance (SMB) from 1980 to 2017. Our estimates lies between 2473.5 ± 114.4 Gt per year and 2564.8 ± 113.7 Gt per year. To evaluate our models, we compared the modelled snow temperatures and densities to in situ measurements. We also investigated the spatial distribution of the SMB. It is very important to have estimates of the Antarctic SMB because then it is easier to understand global sea level changes.
Ruth Mottram, Nicolaj Hansen, Christoph Kittel, J. Melchior van Wessem, Cécile Agosta, Charles Amory, Fredrik Boberg, Willem Jan van de Berg, Xavier Fettweis, Alexandra Gossart, Nicole P. M. van Lipzig, Erik van Meijgaard, Andrew Orr, Tony Phillips, Stuart Webster, Sebastian B. Simonsen, and Niels Souverijns
The Cryosphere, 15, 3751–3784, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3751-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3751-2021, 2021
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We compare the calculated surface mass budget (SMB) of Antarctica in five different regional climate models. On average ~ 2000 Gt of snow accumulates annually, but different models vary by ~ 10 %, a difference equivalent to ± 0.5 mm of global sea level rise. All models reproduce observed weather, but there are large differences in regional patterns of snowfall, especially in areas with very few observations, giving greater uncertainty in Antarctic mass budget than previously identified.
Baptiste Vandecrux, Ruth Mottram, Peter L. Langen, Robert S. Fausto, Martin Olesen, C. Max Stevens, Vincent Verjans, Amber Leeson, Stefan Ligtenberg, Peter Kuipers Munneke, Sergey Marchenko, Ward van Pelt, Colin R. Meyer, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Achim Heilig, Samira Samimi, Shawn Marshall, Horst Machguth, Michael MacFerrin, Masashi Niwano, Olivia Miller, Clifford I. Voss, and Jason E. Box
The Cryosphere, 14, 3785–3810, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3785-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3785-2020, 2020
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In the vast interior of the Greenland ice sheet, snow accumulates into a thick and porous layer called firn. Each summer, the firn retains part of the meltwater generated at the surface and buffers sea-level rise. In this study, we compare nine firn models traditionally used to quantify this retention at four sites and evaluate their performance against a set of in situ observations. We highlight limitations of certain model designs and give perspectives for future model development.
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Short summary
An ice sheet's surface modulates its response to climate change, and it is therefore critical to monitor how it evolves through time. Here, we investigate novel measurements of Greenland surface roughness based on the strength of reflected local airborne and pan-Greenland satellite radar signals. These measurements respond to roughness at scales typically larger than those considered in mass balance modelling while highlighting the scale dependency of surface roughness that is often overlooked.
An ice sheet's surface modulates its response to climate change, and it is therefore critical to...
