11 min read·
GRACE-FO vs ICESat-2 vs InSAR: comparing ice sheet and glacier monitoring technologies
GRACE-FO measures ice mass loss at ~200 km resolution with monthly updates, showing Greenland losing 270 Gt/year on average. ICESat-2 tracks surface elevation change at centimeter precision along orbital tracks, while InSAR maps glacier velocity fields at 10–100 m resolution. This guide compares accuracy, temporal cadence, spatial coverage, and data access costs for climate risk and sea-level projection workflows.