External Glacier Mass-Change Datasets Used for GRACE/GRACE-FO Mascon Evaluation
1. Dataset description

This directory contains two independent glacier mass-change datasets used as complementary external constraints for evaluating GRACE/GRACE-FO Mascon-derived glacier mass changes.

The datasets include:

CryoSat-2 satellite radar altimetry-derived glacier mass-change time series;
DEM differencing-based glacier mass-change estimates.

They provide independent constraints with different spatial coverage, temporal sampling, and uncertainty characteristics for assessing the consistency and regional applicability of different GRACE/GRACE-FO Mascon solutions.

2. Directory structure
Glaciers_External_data
│
│
├── CryoSat2_Arctic_Jakob_etal_2023.csv
│
└── DEM_differencing_Hugonnet_etal_2021.csv


3. CryoSat2_Arctic_Jakob_etal_2023.csv

Dataset description

This dataset contains glacier mass-change estimates derived from CryoSat-2 radar altimetry observations.

The dataset provides regional glacier mass-change time series based on satellite radar altimetry measurements during approximately 2010–2020.

In this study, the CryoSat-2 dataset is used as an independent altimetric constraint for evaluating:

regional glacier mass-change trends;
temporal variability;
sensitivity of GRACE/GRACE-FO Mascon estimates to different spatial integration domains.
Data provider

The CryoSat-2 glacier products are provided by:

University of Edinburgh and Earthwave

Website:

https://earthwave.co.uk/services/

Citation

When using this dataset, please cite:

Jakob, L., & Gourmelen, N. (2023). Glacier mass loss between 2010 and 2020 dominated by atmospheric forcing. Geophysical Research Letters, 50, e2023GL102954.

https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL102954

4. DEM_differencing_Hugonnet_etal_2021.csv

Dataset description

This dataset provides glacier mass-change estimates derived from multi-temporal digital elevation model (DEM) differencing.

The dataset is based on global glacier elevation-change measurements obtained from DEM products and provides geodetic glacier mass-balance estimates over the early twenty-first century.

The dataset is used in this study as an independent geodetic constraint for comparison with GRACE/GRACE-FO Mascon-derived glacier mass changes.

The conversion from elevation change to mass change follows the density assumptions and uncertainty estimates provided by the original dataset.

Data provider

The original dataset is available through:

https://doi.org/10.6096/13

Citation

When using this dataset, please cite:

Hugonnet, R., McNabb, R., Berthier, E. et al. Accelerated global glacier mass loss in the early twenty-first century. Nature, 592, 726–731 (2021).

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03436-z

