Influence of increasing surface melt over decadal timescales on land-terminating Greenland-type outlet glaciers
ABSTRACT Over recent decades, Greenland ice sheet surface melt has shown an increase both in intensity and spatial extent. Part of this water probably reaches the bed and can enhance glacier speed, advecting a larger volume of ice into the ablation area. In the context of a warming climate, this mec...
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Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2018
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2018.59 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S002214301800059X |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/jog.2018.59 2024-06-23T07:53:00+00:00 Influence of increasing surface melt over decadal timescales on land-terminating Greenland-type outlet glaciers GAGLIARDINI, OLIVIER WERDER, MAURO A. 2018 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2018.59 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S002214301800059X en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Journal of Glaciology volume 64, issue 247, page 700-710 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 journal-article 2018 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2018.59 2024-06-12T04:05:12Z ABSTRACT Over recent decades, Greenland ice sheet surface melt has shown an increase both in intensity and spatial extent. Part of this water probably reaches the bed and can enhance glacier speed, advecting a larger volume of ice into the ablation area. In the context of a warming climate, this mechanism could contribute to the future rate of thinning and retreat of land-terminating glaciers of Greenland. These changes in ice flow conditions will in turn influence surface crevassing and thus the ability of water to reach the bed at higher elevations. Here, using a coupled basal hydrology and prognostic ice flow model, the evolution of a Greenland-type glacier subject to increasing surface melt is studied over a few decades. For different scenarios of surface melt increase over the next decades, the evolution of crevassed areas and the ability of water to reach the bed is inferred. Our results indicate that the currently observed crevasse distribution is likely to extend further upstream which will allow water to reach the bed at higher elevations. This will lead to an increase in ice flux into the ablation area which, in turn, accelerates the mass loss of land-terminating glaciers. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Greenland Ice Sheet Journal of Glaciology Cambridge University Press Greenland Journal of Glaciology 64 247 700 710 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
ABSTRACT Over recent decades, Greenland ice sheet surface melt has shown an increase both in intensity and spatial extent. Part of this water probably reaches the bed and can enhance glacier speed, advecting a larger volume of ice into the ablation area. In the context of a warming climate, this mechanism could contribute to the future rate of thinning and retreat of land-terminating glaciers of Greenland. These changes in ice flow conditions will in turn influence surface crevassing and thus the ability of water to reach the bed at higher elevations. Here, using a coupled basal hydrology and prognostic ice flow model, the evolution of a Greenland-type glacier subject to increasing surface melt is studied over a few decades. For different scenarios of surface melt increase over the next decades, the evolution of crevassed areas and the ability of water to reach the bed is inferred. Our results indicate that the currently observed crevasse distribution is likely to extend further upstream which will allow water to reach the bed at higher elevations. This will lead to an increase in ice flux into the ablation area which, in turn, accelerates the mass loss of land-terminating glaciers. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
GAGLIARDINI, OLIVIER WERDER, MAURO A. |
spellingShingle |
GAGLIARDINI, OLIVIER WERDER, MAURO A. Influence of increasing surface melt over decadal timescales on land-terminating Greenland-type outlet glaciers |
author_facet |
GAGLIARDINI, OLIVIER WERDER, MAURO A. |
author_sort |
GAGLIARDINI, OLIVIER |
title |
Influence of increasing surface melt over decadal timescales on land-terminating Greenland-type outlet glaciers |
title_short |
Influence of increasing surface melt over decadal timescales on land-terminating Greenland-type outlet glaciers |
title_full |
Influence of increasing surface melt over decadal timescales on land-terminating Greenland-type outlet glaciers |
title_fullStr |
Influence of increasing surface melt over decadal timescales on land-terminating Greenland-type outlet glaciers |
title_full_unstemmed |
Influence of increasing surface melt over decadal timescales on land-terminating Greenland-type outlet glaciers |
title_sort |
influence of increasing surface melt over decadal timescales on land-terminating greenland-type outlet glaciers |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2018.59 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S002214301800059X |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
glacier Greenland Ice Sheet Journal of Glaciology |
genre_facet |
glacier Greenland Ice Sheet Journal of Glaciology |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology volume 64, issue 247, page 700-710 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2018.59 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_volume |
64 |
container_issue |
247 |
container_start_page |
700 |
op_container_end_page |
710 |
_version_ |
1802644479138594816 |