The Ice Shelf of Petermann Gletscher, North Greenland, and Its Connection to the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans
Petermann Gletscher in North Greenland features the second largest floating ice shelf in the Northern Hemisphere. This paper describes the history of its exploration and presents new ocean and glacier observations. We find that the floating ice shelf is strongly coupled to the ocean below and to Nar...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
The Oceanography Society
2016-12-01
|
| Series: | Oceanography |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://tos.org/oceanography/assets/docs/29-4_munchow.pdf |
| _version_ | 1811252074311057408 |
|---|---|
| author | Andreas Münchow Laurie Padman Peter Washam Keith W. Nicholls |
| author_facet | Andreas Münchow Laurie Padman Peter Washam Keith W. Nicholls |
| author_sort | Andreas Münchow |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Petermann Gletscher in North Greenland features the second largest floating ice shelf in the Northern Hemisphere. This paper describes the history of its exploration and presents new ocean and glacier observations. We find that the floating ice shelf is strongly coupled to the ocean below and to Nares Strait at time scales from tidal to interannual. Our observations cover the 2012 to 2016 period after two large calving events took place in 2010 and 2012 that reduced the ice shelf area by 380 km2 to about 870 km2 today. A potential third breakup, of an additional 150 km2, is anticipated by a large fracture that extends from the margin to the center of the glacier. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T16:29:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-932ca814acd941bb8f1fbc3ea7ea6dc1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1042-8275 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T16:29:23Z |
| publishDate | 2016-12-01 |
| publisher | The Oceanography Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Oceanography |
| spelling | doaj.art-932ca814acd941bb8f1fbc3ea7ea6dc12022-12-22T03:25:14ZengThe Oceanography SocietyOceanography1042-82752016-12-01294849510.5670/oceanog.2016.101The Ice Shelf of Petermann Gletscher, North Greenland, and Its Connection to the Arctic and Atlantic OceansAndreas Münchow0Laurie Padman1Peter Washam2Keith W. Nicholls3University of DelawareEarth & Space ResearchUniversity of DelawareBritish Antarctic SurveyPetermann Gletscher in North Greenland features the second largest floating ice shelf in the Northern Hemisphere. This paper describes the history of its exploration and presents new ocean and glacier observations. We find that the floating ice shelf is strongly coupled to the ocean below and to Nares Strait at time scales from tidal to interannual. Our observations cover the 2012 to 2016 period after two large calving events took place in 2010 and 2012 that reduced the ice shelf area by 380 km2 to about 870 km2 today. A potential third breakup, of an additional 150 km2, is anticipated by a large fracture that extends from the margin to the center of the glacier.https://tos.org/oceanography/assets/docs/29-4_munchow.pdfGreenlandPetermanncalvingglacier |
| spellingShingle | Andreas Münchow Laurie Padman Peter Washam Keith W. Nicholls The Ice Shelf of Petermann Gletscher, North Greenland, and Its Connection to the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans Oceanography Greenland Petermann calving glacier |
| title | The Ice Shelf of Petermann Gletscher, North Greenland, and Its Connection to the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans |
| title_full | The Ice Shelf of Petermann Gletscher, North Greenland, and Its Connection to the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans |
| title_fullStr | The Ice Shelf of Petermann Gletscher, North Greenland, and Its Connection to the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Ice Shelf of Petermann Gletscher, North Greenland, and Its Connection to the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans |
| title_short | The Ice Shelf of Petermann Gletscher, North Greenland, and Its Connection to the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans |
| title_sort | ice shelf of petermann gletscher north greenland and its connection to the arctic and atlantic oceans |
| topic | Greenland Petermann calving glacier |
| url | https://tos.org/oceanography/assets/docs/29-4_munchow.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT andreasmunchow theiceshelfofpetermanngletschernorthgreenlandanditsconnectiontothearcticandatlanticoceans AT lauriepadman theiceshelfofpetermanngletschernorthgreenlandanditsconnectiontothearcticandatlanticoceans AT peterwasham theiceshelfofpetermanngletschernorthgreenlandanditsconnectiontothearcticandatlanticoceans AT keithwnicholls theiceshelfofpetermanngletschernorthgreenlandanditsconnectiontothearcticandatlanticoceans AT andreasmunchow iceshelfofpetermanngletschernorthgreenlandanditsconnectiontothearcticandatlanticoceans AT lauriepadman iceshelfofpetermanngletschernorthgreenlandanditsconnectiontothearcticandatlanticoceans AT peterwasham iceshelfofpetermanngletschernorthgreenlandanditsconnectiontothearcticandatlanticoceans AT keithwnicholls iceshelfofpetermanngletschernorthgreenlandanditsconnectiontothearcticandatlanticoceans |