Mass balance in the Glacier Bay area of Alaska, USA, and British Columbia, Canada, 1995–2011, using airborne laser altimetry

Between 1995 and 2011, glaciers in the Glacier Bay region of Alaska and British Columbia lost mass at a significantly lower rate compared to their long-term average since the Little Ice Age. The study estimated an average mass loss of 3.93 ± 0.89 gigatons per year (0.6 ± 0.1 meters water equivalent annually) for this period, down from 17.8 gigatons per year post-LIA. Researchers used airborne laser altimetry data to track elevation changes across four time intervals, extrapolating center-line profiles to entire glaciers and averaging results regionally using three methods. This approach also revealed a lower bias in mass loss estimates compared to previous digital elevation model difference techniques. The findings align with gravitational measurements from the GRACE satellite for 2003–10, reinforcing their accuracy.

Johnson, A. J., Larsen, C. F., Murphy, N., Arendt, A. A., & Zirnheld, S. L. (2013). Mass balance in the Glacier Bay area of Alaska, USA, and British Columbia, Canada, 1995–2011, using airborne laser altimetry. Journal of Glaciology, 59(216), 632–648. https://doi.org/10.3189/2013jog12j101