download the full information package HERE (ENG/NL)

In this study we determined the change in mass of all land-ice in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago for the six year period between the fall of 2003 and the fall of 2009. We find that the glaciers and ice caps of this region have experienced a sharp increase in mass loss in response to anomalously high summer temperatures. This study uses three independent methods to determine mass changes (surface mass budget modelling plus an estimate of ice discharge (SMB+D), repeat satellite laser altimetry (ICESat) and repeat satellite gravity observations (GRACE)). This gives us very strong confidence in our results. For the years 2007-2009 we find that this region was the largest land-ice contributor to sea level rise outside of the Greenland and Antarctica. Read more here (eng/nl)

An interesting fact sheet on the Canadian Arctic can be found here (eng/nl).

More on the satellites we used: GRACE and ICESat

Some breath-taking pictures of the region can be found here (hi-res images available for download)

The animation below shows the ice mass anomaly in the region as observed by the GRACE satellites, referenced to 2003. Blue means that ice has disappeared since 2003. The total ice deficit for Baffin Island, Ellesmere Island and Greenland is shown on the right. An ice loss of 180 Gt causes a global mean sea level rise of 0.5 mm.