Articles | Volume 20, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-483-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-483-2026
Research article
 | 
21 Jan 2026
Research article |  | 21 Jan 2026

ICESat-2 surface elevation assessment with kinematic GPS and static GNSS near the ice divide in Greenland

Derek J. Pickell, Robert L. Hawley, Denis Felikson, and Jamie C. Good

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Cited articles

Abdalati, W., Zwally, H. J., Bindschadler, R., Csatho, B., Farrell, S. L., Fricker, H. A., Harding, D., Kwok, R., Lefsky, M., Markus, T., Marshak, A., Neumann, T., Palm, S., Schutz, B., Smith, B., Spinhirne, J., and Webb, C.: The ICESat-2 Laser Altimetry Mission, Proceedings of the IEEE, 98, 735–751, https://doi.org/10.1109/JPROC.2009.2034765, 2010. a
Brunt, K. M., Hawley, R. L., Lutz, E. R., Studinger, M., Sonntag, J. G., Hofton, M. A., Andrews, L. C., and Neumann, T. A.: Assessment of NASA airborne laser altimetry data using ground-based GPS data near Summit Station, Greenland, The Cryosphere, 11, 681–692, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-681-2017, 2017. a, b, c
Brunt, K. M., Neumann, T. A., and Larsen, C. F.: Assessment of altimetry using ground-based GPS data from the 88S Traverse, Antarctica, in support of ICESat-2, The Cryosphere, 13, 579–590, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-579-2019, 2019. a, b
Brunt, K. M., Smith, B. E., Sutterley, T. C., Kurtz, N. T., and Neumann, T. A.: Comparisons of Satellite and Airborne Altimetry With Ground-Based Data From the Interior of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, Geophys. Res. Lett., 48, e2020GL090572, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL090572, 2021. a, b
Dahl-Jensen, T., Larsen, T. B., and Voss, P. H.: Greenland ice sheet monitoring network (GLISN): a seismological approach, GEUS Bulletin, 20, 55–58, https://doi.org/10.34194/geusb.v20.4956, 2010. a
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Short summary
We compared ICESat-2 ice surface height measurements in interior Greenland with ground-based Global Positioning System (GPS) observations, finding sub-centimeter biases and centimeter-scale precision with no detectable long-term drift. We also apply an autonomous validation method using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) interferometric reflectometry (GNSS-IR) to measure surface elevation, producing comparable results and enabling more frequent, spatially distributed comparisons.
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