Transient ice loss in the Patagonia Icefields during the 2015–2016 El Niño event

Abstract

The Patagonia Icefields (PIF) are the largest non-polar ice mass in the southern hemisphere. The icefields cover an area of approximately 16,500 km2 and are divided into the northern and southern icefields, which are ~ 4000 km2 and ~ 12,500 km2, respectively. While both icefields have been losing mass rapidly, their responsiveness to various climate drivers, such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, is not well understood. Using the elastic response of the earth to loading changes and continuous GPS data we separated and estimated ice mass changes observed during the strong El Niño that started in 2015 from the complex hydrological interactions occurring around the PIF. During this single event, our mass balance estimates show that the northern icefield lost ~ 28 Gt of mass while the southern icefield lost ~ 12 Gt. This is the largest ice loss event in the PIF observed to date using geodetic data.