Fluctuations of a Greenlandic tidewater glacier driven by changes in atmospheric forcing: observations and modelling of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia, 1859–present
Many tidewater glaciers in Greenland are known to have undergone significant retreat during the last century following their Little Ice Age maxima. Where it is possible to reconstruct glacier change over this period, they provide excellent records for comparison to climate records, as well as calibr...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-2031-2014 https://doaj.org/article/5c497b732c5e4b12a6a42bd4ed2446b4 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:5c497b732c5e4b12a6a42bd4ed2446b4 2023-05-15T16:21:08+02:00 Fluctuations of a Greenlandic tidewater glacier driven by changes in atmospheric forcing: observations and modelling of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia, 1859–present J. M. Lea D. W. F. Mair F. M. Nick B. R. Rea D. van As M. Morlighem P. W. Nienow A. Weidick 2014-11-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-2031-2014 https://doaj.org/article/5c497b732c5e4b12a6a42bd4ed2446b4 EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.the-cryosphere.net/8/2031/2014/tc-8-2031-2014.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 1994-0416 1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-8-2031-2014 https://doaj.org/article/5c497b732c5e4b12a6a42bd4ed2446b4 The Cryosphere, Vol 8, Iss 6, Pp 2031-2045 (2014) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2014 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-2031-2014 2022-12-31T14:59:14Z Many tidewater glaciers in Greenland are known to have undergone significant retreat during the last century following their Little Ice Age maxima. Where it is possible to reconstruct glacier change over this period, they provide excellent records for comparison to climate records, as well as calibration/validation for numerical models. These glacier change records therefore allow for tests of numerical models that seek to simulate tidewater glacier behaviour over multi-decadal to centennial timescales. Here we present a detailed record of behaviour from Kangiata Nunaata Sermia (KNS), SW Greenland, between 1859 and 2012, and compare it against available oceanographic and atmospheric temperature data between 1871 and 2012. We also use these records to evaluate the ability of a well-established one-dimensional flow-band model to replicate behaviour for the observation period. The record of terminus change demonstrates that KNS has advanced/retreated in phase with atmosphere and ocean climate anomalies averaged over multi-annual to decadal timescales. Results from an ensemble of model runs demonstrate that observed dynamics can be replicated. Model runs that provide a reasonable match to observations always require a significant atmospheric forcing component, but do not necessarily require an oceanic forcing component. Although the importance of oceanic forcing cannot be discounted, these results demonstrate that changes in atmospheric forcing are likely to be a primary driver of the terminus fluctuations of KNS from 1859 to 2012. We propose that the detail and length of the record presented makes KNS an ideal site for model validation exercises investigating links between climate, calving rates, and tidewater glacier dynamics. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Greenland greenlandic The Cryosphere Tidewater Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Greenland The Cryosphere 8 6 2031 2045 |
institution |
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 J. M. Lea D. W. F. Mair F. M. Nick B. R. Rea D. van As M. Morlighem P. W. Nienow A. Weidick Fluctuations of a Greenlandic tidewater glacier driven by changes in atmospheric forcing: observations and modelling of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia, 1859–present |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Many tidewater glaciers in Greenland are known to have undergone significant retreat during the last century following their Little Ice Age maxima. Where it is possible to reconstruct glacier change over this period, they provide excellent records for comparison to climate records, as well as calibration/validation for numerical models. These glacier change records therefore allow for tests of numerical models that seek to simulate tidewater glacier behaviour over multi-decadal to centennial timescales. Here we present a detailed record of behaviour from Kangiata Nunaata Sermia (KNS), SW Greenland, between 1859 and 2012, and compare it against available oceanographic and atmospheric temperature data between 1871 and 2012. We also use these records to evaluate the ability of a well-established one-dimensional flow-band model to replicate behaviour for the observation period. The record of terminus change demonstrates that KNS has advanced/retreated in phase with atmosphere and ocean climate anomalies averaged over multi-annual to decadal timescales. Results from an ensemble of model runs demonstrate that observed dynamics can be replicated. Model runs that provide a reasonable match to observations always require a significant atmospheric forcing component, but do not necessarily require an oceanic forcing component. Although the importance of oceanic forcing cannot be discounted, these results demonstrate that changes in atmospheric forcing are likely to be a primary driver of the terminus fluctuations of KNS from 1859 to 2012. We propose that the detail and length of the record presented makes KNS an ideal site for model validation exercises investigating links between climate, calving rates, and tidewater glacier dynamics. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
J. M. Lea D. W. F. Mair F. M. Nick B. R. Rea D. van As M. Morlighem P. W. Nienow A. Weidick |
author_facet |
J. M. Lea D. W. F. Mair F. M. Nick B. R. Rea D. van As M. Morlighem P. W. Nienow A. Weidick |
author_sort |
J. M. Lea |
title |
Fluctuations of a Greenlandic tidewater glacier driven by changes in atmospheric forcing: observations and modelling of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia, 1859–present |
title_short |
Fluctuations of a Greenlandic tidewater glacier driven by changes in atmospheric forcing: observations and modelling of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia, 1859–present |
title_full |
Fluctuations of a Greenlandic tidewater glacier driven by changes in atmospheric forcing: observations and modelling of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia, 1859–present |
title_fullStr |
Fluctuations of a Greenlandic tidewater glacier driven by changes in atmospheric forcing: observations and modelling of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia, 1859–present |
title_full_unstemmed |
Fluctuations of a Greenlandic tidewater glacier driven by changes in atmospheric forcing: observations and modelling of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia, 1859–present |
title_sort |
fluctuations of a greenlandic tidewater glacier driven by changes in atmospheric forcing: observations and modelling of kangiata nunaata sermia, 1859–present |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-2031-2014 https://doaj.org/article/5c497b732c5e4b12a6a42bd4ed2446b4 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
glacier Greenland greenlandic The Cryosphere Tidewater |
genre_facet |
glacier Greenland greenlandic The Cryosphere Tidewater |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 8, Iss 6, Pp 2031-2045 (2014) |
op_relation |
http://www.the-cryosphere.net/8/2031/2014/tc-8-2031-2014.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 1994-0416 1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-8-2031-2014 https://doaj.org/article/5c497b732c5e4b12a6a42bd4ed2446b4 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-2031-2014 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
2031 |
op_container_end_page |
2045 |
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1766009154447605760 |