Marine-terminating glaciers sustain high productivity in Greenland fjords
Accelerated mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet leads to glacier retreat and an increasing input of glacial meltwater to the fjords and coastal waters around Greenland. These high latitude ecosystems are highly productive and sustain important fisheries, yet it remains uncertain how they will res...
Published in: | Global Change Biology |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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2017
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Online Access: | https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/marineterminating-glaciers-sustain-high-productivity-in-greenland-fjords(5ff2fc2e-3d69-4a74-9550-c01f15bce128).html https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13801 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85026782284&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
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ftuniaarhuspubl:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/5ff2fc2e-3d69-4a74-9550-c01f15bce128 2023-05-15T14:30:58+02:00 Marine-terminating glaciers sustain high productivity in Greenland fjords Meire, Lorenz Mortensen, John Meire, Patrick Juul-Pedersen, Thomas Sejr, Mikael K. Rysgaard, Søren Nygaard, Rasmus Huybrechts, Philippe Meysman, Filip J.R. 2017 https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/marineterminating-glaciers-sustain-high-productivity-in-greenland-fjords(5ff2fc2e-3d69-4a74-9550-c01f15bce128).html https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13801 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85026782284&partnerID=8YFLogxK eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Meire , L , Mortensen , J , Meire , P , Juul-Pedersen , T , Sejr , M K , Rysgaard , S , Nygaard , R , Huybrechts , P & Meysman , F J R 2017 , ' Marine-terminating glaciers sustain high productivity in Greenland fjords ' , Global Change Biology , vol. 23 , no. 12 , pp. 5344-5357 . https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13801 Climate change Fjords Glaciers Greenland ice sheet Oceanography Phytoplankton Primary production article 2017 ftuniaarhuspubl https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13801 2023-04-05T22:57:03Z Accelerated mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet leads to glacier retreat and an increasing input of glacial meltwater to the fjords and coastal waters around Greenland. These high latitude ecosystems are highly productive and sustain important fisheries, yet it remains uncertain how they will respond to future changes in the Arctic cryosphere. Here we show that marine-terminating glaciers play a crucial role in sustaining high productivity of the fjord ecosystems. Hydrographic and biogeochemical data from two fjord systems adjacent to the Greenland ice sheet, suggest that marine ecosystem productivity is very differently regulated in fjords influenced by either land-terminating or marine-terminating glaciers. Rising subsurface meltwater plumes originating from marine-terminating glaciers entrain large volumes of ambient deep water to the surface. The resulting upwelling of nutrient-rich deep water sustains a high phytoplankton productivity throughout summer in the fjord with marine-terminating glaciers. In contrast, the fjord with only land-terminating glaciers lack this upwelling mechanism, and is characterized by lower productivity. Data on commercial halibut landings support that coastal regions influenced by large marine-terminating glaciers have substantially higher marine productivity. These results suggest that a switch from marine-terminating to land-terminating glaciers can substantially alter the productivity in the coastal zone around Greenland with potentially large ecological and socio-economic implications. Article in Journal/Newspaper arctic cryosphere Arctic Climate change glacier Greenland Ice Sheet Phytoplankton Aarhus University: Research Arctic Greenland Global Change Biology 23 12 5344 5357 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Aarhus University: Research |
op_collection_id |
ftuniaarhuspubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Climate change Fjords Glaciers Greenland ice sheet Oceanography Phytoplankton Primary production |
spellingShingle |
Climate change Fjords Glaciers Greenland ice sheet Oceanography Phytoplankton Primary production Meire, Lorenz Mortensen, John Meire, Patrick Juul-Pedersen, Thomas Sejr, Mikael K. Rysgaard, Søren Nygaard, Rasmus Huybrechts, Philippe Meysman, Filip J.R. Marine-terminating glaciers sustain high productivity in Greenland fjords |
topic_facet |
Climate change Fjords Glaciers Greenland ice sheet Oceanography Phytoplankton Primary production |
description |
Accelerated mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet leads to glacier retreat and an increasing input of glacial meltwater to the fjords and coastal waters around Greenland. These high latitude ecosystems are highly productive and sustain important fisheries, yet it remains uncertain how they will respond to future changes in the Arctic cryosphere. Here we show that marine-terminating glaciers play a crucial role in sustaining high productivity of the fjord ecosystems. Hydrographic and biogeochemical data from two fjord systems adjacent to the Greenland ice sheet, suggest that marine ecosystem productivity is very differently regulated in fjords influenced by either land-terminating or marine-terminating glaciers. Rising subsurface meltwater plumes originating from marine-terminating glaciers entrain large volumes of ambient deep water to the surface. The resulting upwelling of nutrient-rich deep water sustains a high phytoplankton productivity throughout summer in the fjord with marine-terminating glaciers. In contrast, the fjord with only land-terminating glaciers lack this upwelling mechanism, and is characterized by lower productivity. Data on commercial halibut landings support that coastal regions influenced by large marine-terminating glaciers have substantially higher marine productivity. These results suggest that a switch from marine-terminating to land-terminating glaciers can substantially alter the productivity in the coastal zone around Greenland with potentially large ecological and socio-economic implications. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Meire, Lorenz Mortensen, John Meire, Patrick Juul-Pedersen, Thomas Sejr, Mikael K. Rysgaard, Søren Nygaard, Rasmus Huybrechts, Philippe Meysman, Filip J.R. |
author_facet |
Meire, Lorenz Mortensen, John Meire, Patrick Juul-Pedersen, Thomas Sejr, Mikael K. Rysgaard, Søren Nygaard, Rasmus Huybrechts, Philippe Meysman, Filip J.R. |
author_sort |
Meire, Lorenz |
title |
Marine-terminating glaciers sustain high productivity in Greenland fjords |
title_short |
Marine-terminating glaciers sustain high productivity in Greenland fjords |
title_full |
Marine-terminating glaciers sustain high productivity in Greenland fjords |
title_fullStr |
Marine-terminating glaciers sustain high productivity in Greenland fjords |
title_full_unstemmed |
Marine-terminating glaciers sustain high productivity in Greenland fjords |
title_sort |
marine-terminating glaciers sustain high productivity in greenland fjords |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/marineterminating-glaciers-sustain-high-productivity-in-greenland-fjords(5ff2fc2e-3d69-4a74-9550-c01f15bce128).html https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13801 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85026782284&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland |
genre |
arctic cryosphere Arctic Climate change glacier Greenland Ice Sheet Phytoplankton |
genre_facet |
arctic cryosphere Arctic Climate change glacier Greenland Ice Sheet Phytoplankton |
op_source |
Meire , L , Mortensen , J , Meire , P , Juul-Pedersen , T , Sejr , M K , Rysgaard , S , Nygaard , R , Huybrechts , P & Meysman , F J R 2017 , ' Marine-terminating glaciers sustain high productivity in Greenland fjords ' , Global Change Biology , vol. 23 , no. 12 , pp. 5344-5357 . https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13801 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13801 |
container_title |
Global Change Biology |
container_volume |
23 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
5344 |
op_container_end_page |
5357 |
_version_ |
1766304723754811392 |