Improving ice sheet and glaciers mass balance estimates using Microwave Instrument (MWI) GRACE-FO and GRACE data

The ice mass balance of the Antarctic and Greenland Ice Sheets and the World's Glaciers and Ice Caps (GIC) has a major impact on sea level rise. 

Here we present an update on monthly estimates of glaciers and ice sheet mass balance from the GRACE/GRACE-FO mission up to 2024 using the Microwave Instrument (MWI). We report a slow-down in mass loss in Greenland after 2012 and a mass gain in Antarctica in 2021-2023. In recent years, we note a pause in the mass loss of Antarctica, a mass loss in Greenland that is no longer accelerating, and a steady loss from the GIC. The ice sheet mass loss has slowed down to average 255 Gt/yr for Greenland and 108 Gt/yr for Antarctica during 2002-2024. Combining the GRACE/GRACE-FO data with a longer-time record for 1979-2024, however, we find that the ice sheet mass loss has been accelerating for both Greenland and Antarctica, i.e., the recent slowdown is a fluctuation on top of a long-term decrease.