Growth of Greenland ice sheet - Interpretation

• Main Author: Zwally, H. Jay
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 1989
• Subjects: 46; Greenland; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19900033212

An observed 0.23 m/year thickening of the Greenland ice sheet indicates a 25 percent to 45 percent excess ice accumulation over the amount required to balance the outward ice flow. The implied global sea-level depletion is 0.2 to 0.4 mm/year, depending on whether the thickening is only recent (5 to 10 years) or longer term (less than 100 years). If there is a similar imbalance in the northern 60 percent of the ice-sheet area, the depletion is 0.35 to 0.7 mm/year. Increasing ice thickness suggests that the precipitation is higher than the long-term average; higher precipitation may be a characteristic of warmer climates in polar regions.