Nine 24-year accumulation records from the Summit region in central Greenland are analyzed to separate the effects of spatial noise and interannual fluctuations on the variability in each core. The study shows that both processes are equally important, with standard deviations of 25 mm water equivalent per year and 24 mm water equivalent per year, respectively. A comparison with estimates of surface roughness based on high-resolution laser altimetry of the surface indicates that in the studied region the spatial noise can be reliably estimated from surface roughness. The response of the ice-sheet surface to the interannual fluctuations can be estimated using a simple zero-dimensional ice-sheet response model. For the Summit region of central Greenland, a change in surface elevation of ~20 mm water equivalent per year measured over a 5-year period, can be attributed with 95% confidence to a trend in climate. This probability decreases rapidly as the observation period is shortened. For intervals greater than ~5 year, the probability depends only weakly on the measurement interval. This suggests an optimum spacing of ~5 years between repeat elevation measurements. ¿ 1999 American Geophysical Union