Observed mechanism for sustained glacier retreat and acceleration in response to ocean warming around Greenland
The dynamic loss of ice via outlet glaciers around the Greenland Ice Sheet is a major contributor to sea level rise. However, the retreat history and ensuing dynamic mass loss of neighboring glaciers are disparate, complicating projections of sea level rise. Here, we examine the stress balance evolu...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:32a056e8d74540608d8c319acda36771 2023-05-15T16:21:04+02:00 Observed mechanism for sustained glacier retreat and acceleration in response to ocean warming around Greenland E. Carnahan G. Catania T. C. Bartholomaus 2022-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4305-2022 https://doaj.org/article/32a056e8d74540608d8c319acda36771 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/4305/2022/tc-16-4305-2022.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-16-4305-2022 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/32a056e8d74540608d8c319acda36771 The Cryosphere, Vol 16, Pp 4305-4317 (2022) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4305-2022 2022-12-30T21:34:38Z The dynamic loss of ice via outlet glaciers around the Greenland Ice Sheet is a major contributor to sea level rise. However, the retreat history and ensuing dynamic mass loss of neighboring glaciers are disparate, complicating projections of sea level rise. Here, we examine the stress balance evolution for three neighboring glaciers prior to; at the onset of; during; and, where possible, after retreat. We find no dynamic or thickness changes preceding retreat, implicating a retreat trigger at the ice–ocean boundary. Terminus retreat initiates large-scale changes in the stress state at the terminus. This includes a drop in along-flow resistance to driving stress followed by an increase in lateral drag and associated glacier acceleration. We find that the pre-retreat spatial pattern in stresses along-fjord may control retreat duration and thus the long-term dynamic response of a glacier to terminus retreat. Specifically, glaciers with large regions of low basal drag extending far inland from the terminus permit a chain of stress changes that results in sustained acceleration, increased mass loss, and continued retreat. Glaciers with similarly low basal stress conditions occur around Greenland. Our results suggest that for such glaciers, dynamic mass loss can be sustained into the future despite a pause in ocean forcing. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Greenland Ice Sheet The Cryosphere Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Greenland The Cryosphere 16 10 4305 4317 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 E. Carnahan G. Catania T. C. Bartholomaus Observed mechanism for sustained glacier retreat and acceleration in response to ocean warming around Greenland |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
The dynamic loss of ice via outlet glaciers around the Greenland Ice Sheet is a major contributor to sea level rise. However, the retreat history and ensuing dynamic mass loss of neighboring glaciers are disparate, complicating projections of sea level rise. Here, we examine the stress balance evolution for three neighboring glaciers prior to; at the onset of; during; and, where possible, after retreat. We find no dynamic or thickness changes preceding retreat, implicating a retreat trigger at the ice–ocean boundary. Terminus retreat initiates large-scale changes in the stress state at the terminus. This includes a drop in along-flow resistance to driving stress followed by an increase in lateral drag and associated glacier acceleration. We find that the pre-retreat spatial pattern in stresses along-fjord may control retreat duration and thus the long-term dynamic response of a glacier to terminus retreat. Specifically, glaciers with large regions of low basal drag extending far inland from the terminus permit a chain of stress changes that results in sustained acceleration, increased mass loss, and continued retreat. Glaciers with similarly low basal stress conditions occur around Greenland. Our results suggest that for such glaciers, dynamic mass loss can be sustained into the future despite a pause in ocean forcing. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
E. Carnahan G. Catania T. C. Bartholomaus |
author_facet |
E. Carnahan G. Catania T. C. Bartholomaus |
author_sort |
E. Carnahan |
title |
Observed mechanism for sustained glacier retreat and acceleration in response to ocean warming around Greenland |
title_short |
Observed mechanism for sustained glacier retreat and acceleration in response to ocean warming around Greenland |
title_full |
Observed mechanism for sustained glacier retreat and acceleration in response to ocean warming around Greenland |
title_fullStr |
Observed mechanism for sustained glacier retreat and acceleration in response to ocean warming around Greenland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Observed mechanism for sustained glacier retreat and acceleration in response to ocean warming around Greenland |
title_sort |
observed mechanism for sustained glacier retreat and acceleration in response to ocean warming around greenland |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4305-2022 https://doaj.org/article/32a056e8d74540608d8c319acda36771 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
glacier Greenland Ice Sheet The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
glacier Greenland Ice Sheet The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 16, Pp 4305-4317 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/4305/2022/tc-16-4305-2022.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-16-4305-2022 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/32a056e8d74540608d8c319acda36771 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4305-2022 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
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16 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
4305 |
op_container_end_page |
4317 |
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