Marine‐terminating glaciers sustain high productivity in Greenland fjords
Abstract Accelerated mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet leads to glacier retreat and an increasing input of glacial meltwater to the fjords and coastal waters around Greenland. These high latitude ecosystems are highly productive and sustain important fisheries, yet it remains uncertain how they...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13801 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fgcb.13801 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/gcb.13801 |
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crwiley:10.1111/gcb.13801 2024-06-23T07:48:58+00:00 Marine‐terminating glaciers sustain high productivity in Greenland fjords Meire, Lorenz Mortensen, John Meire, Patrick Juul‐Pedersen, Thomas Sejr, Mikael K. Rysgaard, Søren Nygaard, Rasmus Huybrechts, Philippe Meysman, Filip J. R. Canada Excellence Research Chairs, Government of Canada European Research Council 2017 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13801 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fgcb.13801 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/gcb.13801 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Global Change Biology volume 23, issue 12, page 5344-5357 ISSN 1354-1013 1365-2486 journal-article 2017 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13801 2024-06-13T04:20:32Z Abstract Accelerated mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet leads to glacier retreat and an increasing input of glacial meltwater to the fjords and coastal waters around Greenland. These high latitude ecosystems are highly productive and sustain important fisheries, yet it remains uncertain how they will respond to future changes in the Arctic cryosphere. Here we show that marine‐terminating glaciers play a crucial role in sustaining high productivity of the fjord ecosystems. Hydrographic and biogeochemical data from two fjord systems adjacent to the Greenland ice sheet, suggest that marine ecosystem productivity is very differently regulated in fjords influenced by either land‐terminating or marine‐terminating glaciers. Rising subsurface meltwater plumes originating from marine‐terminating glaciers entrain large volumes of ambient deep water to the surface. The resulting upwelling of nutrient‐rich deep water sustains a high phytoplankton productivity throughout summer in the fjord with marine‐terminating glaciers. In contrast, the fjord with only land‐terminating glaciers lack this upwelling mechanism, and is characterized by lower productivity. Data on commercial halibut landings support that coastal regions influenced by large marine‐terminating glaciers have substantially higher marine productivity. These results suggest that a switch from marine‐terminating to land‐terminating glaciers can substantially alter the productivity in the coastal zone around Greenland with potentially large ecological and socio‐economic implications. Article in Journal/Newspaper arctic cryosphere Arctic glacier Greenland Ice Sheet Phytoplankton Wiley Online Library Arctic Greenland Global Change Biology 23 12 5344 5357 |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Accelerated mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet leads to glacier retreat and an increasing input of glacial meltwater to the fjords and coastal waters around Greenland. These high latitude ecosystems are highly productive and sustain important fisheries, yet it remains uncertain how they will respond to future changes in the Arctic cryosphere. Here we show that marine‐terminating glaciers play a crucial role in sustaining high productivity of the fjord ecosystems. Hydrographic and biogeochemical data from two fjord systems adjacent to the Greenland ice sheet, suggest that marine ecosystem productivity is very differently regulated in fjords influenced by either land‐terminating or marine‐terminating glaciers. Rising subsurface meltwater plumes originating from marine‐terminating glaciers entrain large volumes of ambient deep water to the surface. The resulting upwelling of nutrient‐rich deep water sustains a high phytoplankton productivity throughout summer in the fjord with marine‐terminating glaciers. In contrast, the fjord with only land‐terminating glaciers lack this upwelling mechanism, and is characterized by lower productivity. Data on commercial halibut landings support that coastal regions influenced by large marine‐terminating glaciers have substantially higher marine productivity. These results suggest that a switch from marine‐terminating to land‐terminating glaciers can substantially alter the productivity in the coastal zone around Greenland with potentially large ecological and socio‐economic implications. |
author2 |
Canada Excellence Research Chairs, Government of Canada European Research Council |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Meire, Lorenz Mortensen, John Meire, Patrick Juul‐Pedersen, Thomas Sejr, Mikael K. Rysgaard, Søren Nygaard, Rasmus Huybrechts, Philippe Meysman, Filip J. R. |
spellingShingle |
Meire, Lorenz Mortensen, John Meire, Patrick Juul‐Pedersen, Thomas Sejr, Mikael K. Rysgaard, Søren Nygaard, Rasmus Huybrechts, Philippe Meysman, Filip J. R. Marine‐terminating glaciers sustain high productivity in Greenland fjords |
author_facet |
Meire, Lorenz Mortensen, John Meire, Patrick Juul‐Pedersen, Thomas Sejr, Mikael K. Rysgaard, Søren Nygaard, Rasmus Huybrechts, Philippe Meysman, Filip J. R. |
author_sort |
Meire, Lorenz |
title |
Marine‐terminating glaciers sustain high productivity in Greenland fjords |
title_short |
Marine‐terminating glaciers sustain high productivity in Greenland fjords |
title_full |
Marine‐terminating glaciers sustain high productivity in Greenland fjords |
title_fullStr |
Marine‐terminating glaciers sustain high productivity in Greenland fjords |
title_full_unstemmed |
Marine‐terminating glaciers sustain high productivity in Greenland fjords |
title_sort |
marine‐terminating glaciers sustain high productivity in greenland fjords |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13801 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fgcb.13801 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/gcb.13801 |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland |
genre |
arctic cryosphere Arctic glacier Greenland Ice Sheet Phytoplankton |
genre_facet |
arctic cryosphere Arctic glacier Greenland Ice Sheet Phytoplankton |
op_source |
Global Change Biology volume 23, issue 12, page 5344-5357 ISSN 1354-1013 1365-2486 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13801 |
container_title |
Global Change Biology |
container_volume |
23 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
5344 |
op_container_end_page |
5357 |
_version_ |
1802639265902886912 |