Increased variability in Greenland Ice Sheet runoff from satellite observations
Runoff from the Greenland Ice Sheet has increased over recent decades affecting global sea level, regional ocean circulation, and coastal marine ecosystems, and it now accounts for most of the contemporary mass imbalance. Estimates of runoff are typically derived from regional climate models because...
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ftunivutrecht:oai:dspace.library.uu.nl:1874/413523 2023-12-10T09:49:05+01:00 Increased variability in Greenland Ice Sheet runoff from satellite observations Slater, Thomas Shepherd, Andrew McMillan, Malcolm Leeson, Amber Gilbert, Lin Muir, Alan Munneke, Peter Kuipers Noël, Brice Fettweis, Xavier van den Broeke, Michiel Briggs, Kate Sub Dynamics Meteorology Marine and Atmospheric Research 2021-11-01 application/pdf https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/413523 eng eng https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/413523 info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess 2021 ftunivutrecht 2023-11-15T23:19:17Z Runoff from the Greenland Ice Sheet has increased over recent decades affecting global sea level, regional ocean circulation, and coastal marine ecosystems, and it now accounts for most of the contemporary mass imbalance. Estimates of runoff are typically derived from regional climate models because satellite records have been limited to assessments of melting extent. Here, we use CryoSat-2 satellite altimetry to produce direct measurements of Greenland’s runoff variability, based on seasonal changes in the ice sheet’s surface elevation. Between 2011 and 2020, Greenland’s ablation zone thinned on average by 1.4 ± 0.4 m each summer and thickened by 0.9 ± 0.4 m each winter. By adjusting for the steady-state divergence of ice, we estimate that runoff was 357 ± 58 Gt/yr on average – in close agreement with regional climate model simulations (root mean square difference of 47 to 60 Gt/yr). As well as being 21 % higher between 2011 and 2020 than over the preceding three decades, runoff is now also 60 % more variable from year-to-year as a consequence of large-scale fluctuations in atmospheric circulation. Because this variability is not captured in global climate model simulations, our satellite record of runoff should help to refine them and improve confidence in their projections. Other/Unknown Material Greenland Ice Sheet Utrecht University Repository Greenland |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Utrecht University Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivutrecht |
language |
English |
description |
Runoff from the Greenland Ice Sheet has increased over recent decades affecting global sea level, regional ocean circulation, and coastal marine ecosystems, and it now accounts for most of the contemporary mass imbalance. Estimates of runoff are typically derived from regional climate models because satellite records have been limited to assessments of melting extent. Here, we use CryoSat-2 satellite altimetry to produce direct measurements of Greenland’s runoff variability, based on seasonal changes in the ice sheet’s surface elevation. Between 2011 and 2020, Greenland’s ablation zone thinned on average by 1.4 ± 0.4 m each summer and thickened by 0.9 ± 0.4 m each winter. By adjusting for the steady-state divergence of ice, we estimate that runoff was 357 ± 58 Gt/yr on average – in close agreement with regional climate model simulations (root mean square difference of 47 to 60 Gt/yr). As well as being 21 % higher between 2011 and 2020 than over the preceding three decades, runoff is now also 60 % more variable from year-to-year as a consequence of large-scale fluctuations in atmospheric circulation. Because this variability is not captured in global climate model simulations, our satellite record of runoff should help to refine them and improve confidence in their projections. |
author2 |
Sub Dynamics Meteorology Marine and Atmospheric Research |
author |
Slater, Thomas Shepherd, Andrew McMillan, Malcolm Leeson, Amber Gilbert, Lin Muir, Alan Munneke, Peter Kuipers Noël, Brice Fettweis, Xavier van den Broeke, Michiel Briggs, Kate |
spellingShingle |
Slater, Thomas Shepherd, Andrew McMillan, Malcolm Leeson, Amber Gilbert, Lin Muir, Alan Munneke, Peter Kuipers Noël, Brice Fettweis, Xavier van den Broeke, Michiel Briggs, Kate Increased variability in Greenland Ice Sheet runoff from satellite observations |
author_facet |
Slater, Thomas Shepherd, Andrew McMillan, Malcolm Leeson, Amber Gilbert, Lin Muir, Alan Munneke, Peter Kuipers Noël, Brice Fettweis, Xavier van den Broeke, Michiel Briggs, Kate |
author_sort |
Slater, Thomas |
title |
Increased variability in Greenland Ice Sheet runoff from satellite observations |
title_short |
Increased variability in Greenland Ice Sheet runoff from satellite observations |
title_full |
Increased variability in Greenland Ice Sheet runoff from satellite observations |
title_fullStr |
Increased variability in Greenland Ice Sheet runoff from satellite observations |
title_full_unstemmed |
Increased variability in Greenland Ice Sheet runoff from satellite observations |
title_sort |
increased variability in greenland ice sheet runoff from satellite observations |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/413523 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Greenland Ice Sheet |
op_relation |
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/413523 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
_version_ |
1784893368202952704 |