Mass Balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet at Dye 3
Abstract The mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet at Dye 3 is estimated on the basis of observations of ice thickness, accumulation rate, surface velocities, and surface strain-rates. The calculations indicate a rate of increase of surface elevation of 3 cm/year, with 95% confidence limits of −3...
| Published in: | Journal of Glaciology |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1985
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000006493 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000006493 |
| Summary: | Abstract The mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet at Dye 3 is estimated on the basis of observations of ice thickness, accumulation rate, surface velocities, and surface strain-rates. The calculations indicate a rate of increase of surface elevation of 3 cm/year, with 95% confidence limits of −3 cm/year and +9 cm/year. Previous estimates of the mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet by the same method reported large imbalances; these are most probably due to lack of precise data and the use of quantities measured at the surface as representative of depth-averaged quantities. The most reliable observations indicate that the interior regions of the Greenland ice sheet are at present thickening at a rate of a few centimetres per year; a contributing cause for this may be the slow thinning of a bottom layer of relatively soft Wisconsin ice. |
|---|