Appendix C
Analysis of Sea-Level Fingerprint Effects
The effect of the Alaska, Greenland, and Antarctic sea-level fingerprints on relative sea level off the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington can be calculated by scaling the rate of rise from each source by the appropriate factor (colored contours) indicated in Figure 4.9 and adding the contributions:
where R is the ice loss rate in mm yr-1 or GT yr-1, k indicates the source of new water entering the ocean (Alaska, Greenland, and Antarctica), p indicates the destination of the water (north coast, central coast, or south coast), and sk,p is the fingerprint scale factor (derived from Figure 4.9) for source k delivering water to destination p. Loss rates R for Alaska, Greenland, and Antarctica, as reported in the literature, are given in Table C.1. The 1992–2009 period (1992–2008 for Alaska) was chosen because it was the longest and most nearly common period of availability of the largest number of records for all three regions. Averages were weighted according to the assessed reliability of the individual estimates.
The adjusted rate of sea-level rise is determined by multiplying the ice loss rate R for each of the three sources by the fingerprint scale factor s for each of the three regions along the coast, then summing (see equation). The result is given in Table C.2.
The effect of uncertainties in the ice loss rates on the adjusted rate of relative sea-level rise is shown in Table C.3. The mid-range estimate is the mean estimate, also given in the right column of Table C.2, and the low- and high-range estimates are plus and minus the uncertainties.
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TABLE C.1 Ice Mass Loss Rates, in Terms of Sea-Level Equivalent, Measured or Inferred for Alaska, Greenland, and Antarctica
Source | Period | Ice Loss Rates (mm yr-1 SLE) |
Alaska | ||
Berthier et al. (2010) | 1962–2006 | -0.12 ± 0.02 |
Cogley (2012) | 1990–2005 | -0.09 ± 0.00 |
1995–2005 | -0.08 ± 0.00 | |
2000–2005 | -0.15 ± 0.02 | |
Dyurgerov (2010) | 1992–2006 | -0.20 ± 0.02 |
Arendt et al. (2002) | 1992–2002 | -0.27 ± 0.10 |
Tamisiea et al. (2005) | 2002–2003 | -0.31 ± 0.09 |
Luthcke et al. (2008) | 2003–2007 | -0.23 ± 0.01 |
Pritchard et al. (2010) | 2003–2008 | -0.18 ± 0.14 |
Greenland Ice Sheet | ||
Wu et al. (2010) | 2002–2009 | -0.29 ± 0.06 |
Sørensen et al. (2011) | 2004–2008 | -0.58 ± 0.06 |
Schrama and Wouters (2011) | 2003–2010 | -0.56 ± 0.05 |
Cazenave et al. (2009) | 2003–2008 | -0.38 ± 0.05 |
Zwally et al. (2011) | 1992–2002 | -0.02 ± 0.01 |
2003–2007 | -0.47 ± 0.01 | |
Velicogna (2009) | 2002–2009 | -0.62 ± 0.09 |
Pritchard et al. (2010) | 2004–2010 | -0.54 ± 0.06 |
Baur et al. (2009) | 2003–2009 | -0.49 ± 0.03 |
Slobbe et al. (2009) | 2003–2008 | -0.59 ± 0.22 |
2003–2007 | -0.38 ± 0.19 | |
Rignot et al. (2011) | 1992–2010 | -0.43 ± 0.14 |
Chen et al. (2011) | 2002–2005 | -0.43 ± 0.10 |
2005–2010 | -0.68 ± 0.10 | |
Antarctic Ice Sheet | ||
Wu et al. (2010) | 2002–2009 | -0.24 ± 0.12 |
Wingham et al. (2006) | 1993–2003 | 0.07 ± 0.19 |
Velicogna (2009) | 2002–2009 | -0.40 ± 0.20 |
Chen et al. (2009) | 2002–2006 | -0.40 ± 0.16 |
2006–2009 | -0.61 ± 0.25 | |
Rignot et al. (2011) | 1992–2010 | -0.23 ± 0.25 |
Horwath and Dietrich (2009) | 2002–2008 | -0.30 ± 0.13 |
Moore and King (2008) | 2002–2006 | -0.45 ± 0.22 |
Cazenave et al. (2009) | 2003–2008 | -0.55 ± 0.06 |
Dong-Chen et al. (2009) | 2003–2008 | -0.22 ± 0.10 |
Shi et al. (2011) | 2003–2008 | -0.21 ± 0.01 |
Zwally et al. (2005) | 1992–2001 | -0.08 ± 0.14 |
Ivins et al. (2011) | 2003–2009 | -0.11 ± 0.02 |
TABLE C.2 Ice Loss Rates, Sea-Level Fingerprint Scale Factors, and Adjusted Rates of Sea-Level Rise for three U.S. West Coast Locations
Ice Loss Rate | Alaska 0.16 mm yr-1 SLE |
Greenland 0.35 mm yr-1 SLE |
Antarctica 0.28 mm yr-1 SLE |
Sum of Sources 0.79 mm yr-1 SLE |
||||
Area | Scale Factor |
Adjusted Sea-Level Rise (mm yr-1) |
Scale Factor |
Adjusted Sea-Level Rise (mm yr-1) |
Scale Factor |
Adjusted Sea-Level Rise (mm yr-1) |
Total Adjusted Sea-Level Rise (mm yr-1) |
|
North coast | -0.80 | -0.13 | 0.75 | 0.26 | 1.17 | 0.33 | 0.46 | |
Central coast | -0.20 | -0.03 | 0.87 | 0.30 | 1.17 | 0.33 | 0.60 | |
South coast | 0.20 | 0.03 | 0.92 | 0.32 | 1.17 | 0.33 | 0.68 | |
TABLE C.3 Adjusted Rates of Relative Sea-Level Rise for High, Medium, and Low Ice Loss Rates
Region | Low-Range Estimate (mm yr-1) | Mid-Range Estimate (mm yr-1) | High-Range Estimate (mm yr-1) |
North coast | 0.07 | 0.46 | 0.86 |
Central coast | 0.07 | 0.60 | 1.14 |
South coast | 0.06 | 0.68 | 1.30 |
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