Rapid disintegration and weakening of ice shelves in North Greenland
Abstract The glaciers of North Greenland are hosting enough ice to raise sea level by 2.1 m, and have long considered to be stable. This part of Greenland is buttressed by the last remaining ice shelves of the ice sheet. Here, we show that since 1978, ice shelves in North Greenland have lost more th...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:4d6bb2e90b554d3f80922dc5a6beb112 2023-12-31T10:07:17+01:00 Rapid disintegration and weakening of ice shelves in North Greenland R. Millan E. Jager J. Mouginot M. H. Wood S. H. Larsen P. Mathiot N. C. Jourdain A. Bjørk 2023-11-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42198-2 https://doaj.org/article/4d6bb2e90b554d3f80922dc5a6beb112 EN eng Nature Portfolio https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42198-2 https://doaj.org/toc/2041-1723 doi:10.1038/s41467-023-42198-2 2041-1723 https://doaj.org/article/4d6bb2e90b554d3f80922dc5a6beb112 Nature Communications, Vol 14, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2023) Science Q article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42198-2 2023-12-03T01:43:39Z Abstract The glaciers of North Greenland are hosting enough ice to raise sea level by 2.1 m, and have long considered to be stable. This part of Greenland is buttressed by the last remaining ice shelves of the ice sheet. Here, we show that since 1978, ice shelves in North Greenland have lost more than 35% of their total volume, three of them collapsing completely. For the floating ice shelves that remain we observe a widespread increase in ice shelf mass losses, that are dominated by enhanced basal melting rates. Between 2000 and 2020, there was a widespread increase in basal melt rates that closely follows a rise in the ocean temperature. These glaciers are showing a direct dynamical response to ice shelf changes with retreating grounding lines and increased ice discharge. These results suggest that, under future projections of ocean thermal forcing, basal melting rates will continue to rise or remain at high level, which may have dramatic consequences for the stability of Greenlandic glaciers. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland greenlandic Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves North Greenland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Nature Communications 14 1 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
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English |
topic |
Science Q |
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Science Q R. Millan E. Jager J. Mouginot M. H. Wood S. H. Larsen P. Mathiot N. C. Jourdain A. Bjørk Rapid disintegration and weakening of ice shelves in North Greenland |
topic_facet |
Science Q |
description |
Abstract The glaciers of North Greenland are hosting enough ice to raise sea level by 2.1 m, and have long considered to be stable. This part of Greenland is buttressed by the last remaining ice shelves of the ice sheet. Here, we show that since 1978, ice shelves in North Greenland have lost more than 35% of their total volume, three of them collapsing completely. For the floating ice shelves that remain we observe a widespread increase in ice shelf mass losses, that are dominated by enhanced basal melting rates. Between 2000 and 2020, there was a widespread increase in basal melt rates that closely follows a rise in the ocean temperature. These glaciers are showing a direct dynamical response to ice shelf changes with retreating grounding lines and increased ice discharge. These results suggest that, under future projections of ocean thermal forcing, basal melting rates will continue to rise or remain at high level, which may have dramatic consequences for the stability of Greenlandic glaciers. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
R. Millan E. Jager J. Mouginot M. H. Wood S. H. Larsen P. Mathiot N. C. Jourdain A. Bjørk |
author_facet |
R. Millan E. Jager J. Mouginot M. H. Wood S. H. Larsen P. Mathiot N. C. Jourdain A. Bjørk |
author_sort |
R. Millan |
title |
Rapid disintegration and weakening of ice shelves in North Greenland |
title_short |
Rapid disintegration and weakening of ice shelves in North Greenland |
title_full |
Rapid disintegration and weakening of ice shelves in North Greenland |
title_fullStr |
Rapid disintegration and weakening of ice shelves in North Greenland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Rapid disintegration and weakening of ice shelves in North Greenland |
title_sort |
rapid disintegration and weakening of ice shelves in north greenland |
publisher |
Nature Portfolio |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42198-2 https://doaj.org/article/4d6bb2e90b554d3f80922dc5a6beb112 |
genre |
Greenland greenlandic Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves North Greenland |
genre_facet |
Greenland greenlandic Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves North Greenland |
op_source |
Nature Communications, Vol 14, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42198-2 https://doaj.org/toc/2041-1723 doi:10.1038/s41467-023-42198-2 2041-1723 https://doaj.org/article/4d6bb2e90b554d3f80922dc5a6beb112 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42198-2 |
container_title |
Nature Communications |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1786839622793297920 |