Abstract
Abstract. A 21-yr record is presented of surface mass balance measurements along the K-transect. The series covers the period 1990–2011. Data are available at eight sites along a transect over an altitude range of 380–1850 m at approximately 67° N in West Greenland. The surface mass balance gradient is on average 3.8 × 10−3 m w.e. m−1, and the mean equilibrium line altitude is 1553 m a.s.l. Only the lower three sites within 10 km of the margin up to an elevation of 700 m experience a significant increasing trend in the ablation over the entire period. Data are available at: doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.779181.
Highlights
Over the last 10 yr, our understanding of the mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet has improved considerably due to satellite observations
The analysis of gravity field, radar altimetry and interferometry data combined with regional climate models has contributed to this (e.g. Rignot and Kanagaratnam, 2006; Thomas et al, 2008; Wouters et al, 2008; Van den Broeke et al, 2009)
We have presented a data set of surface mass balance over a period of 21 yr along a transect in West Greenland
Summary
Over the last 10 yr, our understanding of the mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet has improved considerably due to satellite observations. It is the longest record of ground-based surface mass balance measurements in Greenland. Thomsen, 1987; Braithwaite and Olesen, 1989; Reeh, 1991; Van As et al, 2011), but they are all temporally limited in length Those data are important because they are located in widely different climatological regions. We present the surface mass balance data and discuss the spatial and temporal pattern
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