SCAR XXXV Paper 26: The Future of Ice Sheet Mass Balance and Sea Level (ISMASS) Popular

SCAR XXXV Delegates Meeting, Davos, Switzerland, 25-26 June 2018

SCAR XXXV Paper 26: The Future of Ice Sheet Mass Balance and Sea Level (ISMASS)

Agenda Item: 4.4.8

Person Responsible: C. Ritz et al.

Executive Summary

Authors

Frank Pattyn (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) - BELGIUM, Catherine Ritz (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) - FRANCE, Francisco Navarro (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) – SPAIN, Edward Hanna (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) - UK

Summary of activities and other important issues

• A model intercomparison initiative on West Antarctic Glacier-Ocean was organized at the New York University Campus in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on 16-18 May 2016, focused on coupling of ice sheet and ocean models, organized by David and Denise Holland.

• An ISMASS Workshop that addressed the impact of 1.5°C global warming on Greenland & Antarctic ice sheets, held in Brussels from 11-13 January 2017 with the purpose of preparing a review paper on the contribution of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets to future sea level under a 1.5°C warmer climate (in line with the Paris agreement).

• Catherine Ritz gave presentations on the above activity at: (1) 2017 European Geosciences Union meeting; and (2) WCRP/IOC conference on “Regional Sea Level Changes and Coastal Impacts” in New York in July 2017.

• There will be an ISMASS related session during next Open Conference in DAVOS in 2018. CR5: “Interactions between ice mass balance, the solid Earth, and sea-level changes” (C. Ritz convener)

• ISMASS will organize a one day workshop on 15 June 2018 as a side meeting of the above Open Conference. Title: “Update on mass balance of Greenland and Antarctica (linkages between data and models)”. A review article should be an outcome of this workshop (Contact Edward Hanna).

Recommendation

ISMASS bridges scientific groups and communities involved in better understanding of and improving projections of sea level change (past, present and future). This happens under the form of meetings and targeted initiatives. ISMASS is a longstanding working group that refocused its attention in 2012 to ice sheet mass balance and sea level. For that purpose, ISMASS is not solely a SCAR initiative, but is also linked to IASC and CliC. The main website of ISMASS is hosted by CliC.