Distributed ice thickness and volume of all glaciers around the globe

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface Vol. 117; no. F4
• Main Authors: Huss, Matthias, Farinotti, Daniel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.12.2012; American Geophysical Union
• Subjects: Cryosphere; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; External geophysics; glacier ice volume; glacier inventory; Glaciers; global assessment; Ice; Ice caps; Ice thickness; ice thickness distribution; Remote sensing; Sea level rise; Topography; water resources; polar regions; Antarctica; Greenland ice sheet; Arctic region; Greenland; Terra satellite; thickness; Space remote sensing; topography; Satellite observation; ice; Valley glaciar; inventory; Polar orbiting satellite; ice sheets; Radar observation; radiometry; ice caps; Polar region; Dynamic model; radar methods; sea level
• ISSN: 0148-0227; 2169-9003; 2156-2202; 2169-9011
• DOI: 10.1029/2012JF002523

A new physically based approach for calculating glacier ice thickness distribution and volume is presented and applied to all glaciers and ice caps worldwide. Combining glacier outlines of the globally complete Randolph Glacier Inventory with terrain elevation models (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission/Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer), we use a simple dynamic model to obtain spatially distributed thickness of individual glaciers by inverting their surface topography. Results are validated against a comprehensive set of thickness observations for 300 glaciers from most glacierized regions of the world. For all mountain glaciers and ice caps outside of the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets we find a total ice volume of 170 × 103 ± 21 × 103 km3, or 0.43 ± 0.06 m of potential sea level rise. Key Points First ice volume assessment of all individual glaciers around the globe Novel methodology to estimate glacier ice thickness distribution Potential sea level rise of 170,000 glaciers and ice caps worldwide is 0.43 m