Closing Greenland's Mass Balance: Frontal Ablation of Every Greenlandic Glacier From 2000 to 2020

Abstract In Greenland, 87% of the glacierized area terminates in the ocean, but mass lost at the ice‐ocean interface, or frontal ablation, has not yet been fully quantified. Using measurements and models we calculate frontal ablation of Greenland's 213 outlet and 537 peripheral glaciers and fin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Main Authors: William Kochtitzky, Luke Copland, Michalea King, Romain Hugonnet, Hester Jiskoot, Mathieu Morlighem, Romain Millan, Shfaqat Abbas Khan, Brice Noël
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2023
Subjects:
glaciology
remote sensing
frontal ablation
glacier mass loss
cryosphere
calving
Geophysics. Cosmic physics
QC801-809
glacier
Greenland
greenlandic
Ice Sheet
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL104095
https://doaj.org/article/0310a0a2e6a240bbb27e31f726e35052
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Summary:Abstract In Greenland, 87% of the glacierized area terminates in the ocean, but mass lost at the ice‐ocean interface, or frontal ablation, has not yet been fully quantified. Using measurements and models we calculate frontal ablation of Greenland's 213 outlet and 537 peripheral glaciers and find a total frontal ablation of 481.8 ± 24.0 for 2000–2010 and 510.2 ± 18.6 Gt a−1 for 2010–2020. Ice discharge accounted for ∼90% of frontal ablation during both periods, while mass loss due to terminus retreat comprised the remainder. Only 16 glaciers were responsible for the majority (>50%) of frontal ablation from 2010 to 2020. These estimates, along with the climatic‐basal balance, allow for a more complete accounting of Greenland Ice Sheet and peripheral glacier mass balance. In total, Greenland accounted for ∼90% of Northern Hemisphere frontal ablation for 2000–2010 and 2010–2020.

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