Estimating the glacier contribution to sea-level rise for the period 1800-2005

Abstract

In this study, a new estimate of the contribution of glaciers and ice caps to the sea-level rise over the period 1800-2005 is presented. We exploit the available information on changes in glacier length. Length records form the only direct evidence of glacier change that has potential global coverage before 1950. We calculate a globally representative signal from 349 glacier length records. By means of scaling, we deduce a global glacier volume signal, that is calibrated on the mass-balance and geodetic observations of the period 1950-2005. We find that the glacier contribution to sea-level rise was 8.4 ± 2.1 cm for the period 1800-2005 and 9.1 ± 2.3 cm for the period 1850-2005.