Why do we expect glacier melting to increase under global warming?
Media stories about global warming almost always mention “melting glaciers” and their effects upon global sealevel. The reader might therefore ask why the title of this chapter includes a question mark. It may seem blindingly obvious that global warming will cause a rise in global sealevel with a su...
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ftumanchesterpub:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/5711f234-f028-439d-a1a5-e659c0ec8a0e 2023-11-12T04:12:38+01:00 Why do we expect glacier melting to increase under global warming? Braithwaite, R. J. Blanco, J. A. 2011-09 application/pdf https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/publications/5711f234-f028-439d-a1a5-e659c0ec8a0e https://pure.manchester.ac.uk/ws/files/54103131/Braithwaite_2011_Why_do_we_expect_glacier_melting_to_increase_under_global_warming.pdf eng eng IntechOpen info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Braithwaite , R J 2011 , Why do we expect glacier melting to increase under global warming? in J A Blanco (ed.) , Climate change - geophysical foundations and ecological effects . IntechOpen , Rijeka, Croatia , pp. 479-502 . glaciers global warming temperature mass balance The Arctic Greenland The Alps bookPart 2011 ftumanchesterpub 2023-10-30T09:17:30Z Media stories about global warming almost always mention “melting glaciers” and their effects upon global sealevel. The reader might therefore ask why the title of this chapter includes a question mark. It may seem blindingly obvious that global warming will cause a rise in global sealevel with a substantial contribution from melting glaciers, but the reasons are less obvious despite the copious literature. For example, the IPCC assessment reports 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2007 all include many references to published papers on glaciers (IPCC, 2011). These are admirable summaries of who has said what, or who has done what, but they do not explain why. My purpose for the present chapter is to provide a clear narrative on why we expect glacier melting to increase with any change in temperature, whether due to global warming or to natural fluctuations. By its very nature, the why of increased glacier melting must also answer the question of how much extra melting? The present chapter demonstrates empirically that higher melt is associated with higher air temperature. I do this in three stages: (1) correlating daily melt with daily air temperature for some Arctic and/or Greenland locations, (2) linking the results to the wider literature on the degree-method, and (3) showing that recent changes in glacier mass balance in the Alps are consistent with higher air temperatures in and around the Alps. Book Part Arctic glacier Global warming Greenland The University of Manchester: Research Explorer Arctic Greenland |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The University of Manchester: Research Explorer |
op_collection_id |
ftumanchesterpub |
language |
English |
topic |
glaciers global warming temperature mass balance The Arctic Greenland The Alps |
spellingShingle |
glaciers global warming temperature mass balance The Arctic Greenland The Alps Braithwaite, R. J. Why do we expect glacier melting to increase under global warming? |
topic_facet |
glaciers global warming temperature mass balance The Arctic Greenland The Alps |
description |
Media stories about global warming almost always mention “melting glaciers” and their effects upon global sealevel. The reader might therefore ask why the title of this chapter includes a question mark. It may seem blindingly obvious that global warming will cause a rise in global sealevel with a substantial contribution from melting glaciers, but the reasons are less obvious despite the copious literature. For example, the IPCC assessment reports 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2007 all include many references to published papers on glaciers (IPCC, 2011). These are admirable summaries of who has said what, or who has done what, but they do not explain why. My purpose for the present chapter is to provide a clear narrative on why we expect glacier melting to increase with any change in temperature, whether due to global warming or to natural fluctuations. By its very nature, the why of increased glacier melting must also answer the question of how much extra melting? The present chapter demonstrates empirically that higher melt is associated with higher air temperature. I do this in three stages: (1) correlating daily melt with daily air temperature for some Arctic and/or Greenland locations, (2) linking the results to the wider literature on the degree-method, and (3) showing that recent changes in glacier mass balance in the Alps are consistent with higher air temperatures in and around the Alps. |
author2 |
Blanco, J. A. |
format |
Book Part |
author |
Braithwaite, R. J. |
author_facet |
Braithwaite, R. J. |
author_sort |
Braithwaite, R. J. |
title |
Why do we expect glacier melting to increase under global warming? |
title_short |
Why do we expect glacier melting to increase under global warming? |
title_full |
Why do we expect glacier melting to increase under global warming? |
title_fullStr |
Why do we expect glacier melting to increase under global warming? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Why do we expect glacier melting to increase under global warming? |
title_sort |
why do we expect glacier melting to increase under global warming? |
publisher |
IntechOpen |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/publications/5711f234-f028-439d-a1a5-e659c0ec8a0e https://pure.manchester.ac.uk/ws/files/54103131/Braithwaite_2011_Why_do_we_expect_glacier_melting_to_increase_under_global_warming.pdf |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland |
genre |
Arctic glacier Global warming Greenland |
genre_facet |
Arctic glacier Global warming Greenland |
op_source |
Braithwaite , R J 2011 , Why do we expect glacier melting to increase under global warming? in J A Blanco (ed.) , Climate change - geophysical foundations and ecological effects . IntechOpen , Rijeka, Croatia , pp. 479-502 . |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
_version_ |
1782331056231284736 |