Snowfall-driven growth in East Antarctic ice sheet mitigates recent sea-level rise

Science. 2005 Jun 24;308(5730):1898-901. doi: 10.1126/science.1110662. Epub 2005 May 19.

Abstract

Satellite radar altimetry measurements indicate that the East Antarctic ice-sheet interior north of 81.6 degrees S increased in mass by 45 +/- 7 billion metric tons per year from 1992 to 2003. Comparisons with contemporaneous meteorological model snowfall estimates suggest that the gain in mass was associated with increased precipitation. A gain of this magnitude is enough to slow sea-level rise by 0.12 +/- 0.02 millimeters per year.