Steady-state characteristics of the Greenland ice sheet under different climates

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Authors: Letréguilly, Anne, Huybrechts, Philippe, Reeh, Niels
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1991
• Subjects: Greenland; Ice Sheet; Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000042908; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000042908

Abstract The Greenland ice sheet is modelled to simulate its extent and volume in warmer climates, and to find out whether the ice sheet would re-form on the ice-free bedrock under present climatic conditions. The ice-sheet model is a three-dimensional thermo-mechanical model with a fine-resolution grid. The bedrock surface beneath the ice sheet was mapped using radio-echo-sounding measurements by the Electromagnetic Institute, Copenhagen. The model experiments show that increased temperature will result in ice-margin retreat, but the ice sheet is relatively stable; it takes a temperature rise of at least 6 deg for the ice sheet to disappear completely, which indicates that the ice sheet probably survived the last interglacial. Furthermore, it appears that the Greenland ice sheet is not a mere relict ice mass from a previously colder climate but that the ice sheet will still re-form on the bare bedrock under the present, or even slightly warmer, climatic conditions.