Dynamic mass loss from Greenland's marine-terminating peripheral glaciers (1985–2018)
Global glacier mass balance decreased rapidly over the last two decades, exceeding mass loss from the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets. In Greenland, peripheral glaciers and ice caps (GICs) cover only ~5% of Greenland's area but contributed ~20% of the island's ice mass loss between 2000...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Journal of Glaciology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143022000521/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1811155754667737088 |
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| author | Katherine E. Bollen Ellyn M. Enderlin Rebecca Muhlheim |
| author_facet | Katherine E. Bollen Ellyn M. Enderlin Rebecca Muhlheim |
| author_sort | Katherine E. Bollen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Global glacier mass balance decreased rapidly over the last two decades, exceeding mass loss from the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets. In Greenland, peripheral glaciers and ice caps (GICs) cover only ~5% of Greenland's area but contributed ~20% of the island's ice mass loss between 2000 and 2018. Although Greenland GIC mass loss due to surface meltwater runoff has been estimated using atmospheric models, mass lost to changes in ice discharge into oceans (i.e., dynamic mass loss) remains unquantified. We use the flux gate method to estimate discharge from Greenland's 585 marine-terminating peripheral glaciers between 1985 and 2018, and compute dynamic mass loss as the discharge anomaly relative to the 1985–98 period. Greenland GICs discharged between 2.94 ± 0.23 and 4.03 ± 0.23 Gt a−1 from 1985 to 1998, depending on the gap-filling method, and abruptly increased to 5.10 ± 0.21 Gt a−1 from 1999 to 2018. The resultant ~1–2 Gt a−1 dynamic mass loss was driven by synchronous widespread acceleration around Greenland. The mass loss came predominantly from the southeast region, which contains 39% of the glaciers. Although changes in discharge over time were small relative to surface mass-balance changes, our speed and discharge time series suggest these glaciers may quickly accelerate in response to changes in climate. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:39:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-af1fb52d6b304a5386db352253392f54 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:39:54Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Glaciology |
| spelling | doaj.art-af1fb52d6b304a5386db352253392f542023-03-09T12:41:22ZengCambridge University PressJournal of Glaciology0022-14301727-56522023-02-016915316310.1017/jog.2022.52Dynamic mass loss from Greenland's marine-terminating peripheral glaciers (1985–2018)Katherine E. Bollen0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4345-0899Ellyn M. Enderlin1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8266-7719Rebecca Muhlheim2Department of Geosciences, Boise State University, Boise, ID, USADepartment of Geosciences, Boise State University, Boise, ID, USACarleton College, Department of Geology, Northfield, MN, USAGlobal glacier mass balance decreased rapidly over the last two decades, exceeding mass loss from the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets. In Greenland, peripheral glaciers and ice caps (GICs) cover only ~5% of Greenland's area but contributed ~20% of the island's ice mass loss between 2000 and 2018. Although Greenland GIC mass loss due to surface meltwater runoff has been estimated using atmospheric models, mass lost to changes in ice discharge into oceans (i.e., dynamic mass loss) remains unquantified. We use the flux gate method to estimate discharge from Greenland's 585 marine-terminating peripheral glaciers between 1985 and 2018, and compute dynamic mass loss as the discharge anomaly relative to the 1985–98 period. Greenland GICs discharged between 2.94 ± 0.23 and 4.03 ± 0.23 Gt a−1 from 1985 to 1998, depending on the gap-filling method, and abruptly increased to 5.10 ± 0.21 Gt a−1 from 1999 to 2018. The resultant ~1–2 Gt a−1 dynamic mass loss was driven by synchronous widespread acceleration around Greenland. The mass loss came predominantly from the southeast region, which contains 39% of the glaciers. Although changes in discharge over time were small relative to surface mass-balance changes, our speed and discharge time series suggest these glaciers may quickly accelerate in response to changes in climate.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143022000521/type/journal_articleGlacier dischargeice and climateice dynamicsremote sensing |
| spellingShingle | Katherine E. Bollen Ellyn M. Enderlin Rebecca Muhlheim Dynamic mass loss from Greenland's marine-terminating peripheral glaciers (1985–2018) Journal of Glaciology Glacier discharge ice and climate ice dynamics remote sensing |
| title | Dynamic mass loss from Greenland's marine-terminating peripheral glaciers (1985–2018) |
| title_full | Dynamic mass loss from Greenland's marine-terminating peripheral glaciers (1985–2018) |
| title_fullStr | Dynamic mass loss from Greenland's marine-terminating peripheral glaciers (1985–2018) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dynamic mass loss from Greenland's marine-terminating peripheral glaciers (1985–2018) |
| title_short | Dynamic mass loss from Greenland's marine-terminating peripheral glaciers (1985–2018) |
| title_sort | dynamic mass loss from greenland s marine terminating peripheral glaciers 1985 2018 |
| topic | Glacier discharge ice and climate ice dynamics remote sensing |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143022000521/type/journal_article |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT katherineebollen dynamicmasslossfromgreenlandsmarineterminatingperipheralglaciers19852018 AT ellynmenderlin dynamicmasslossfromgreenlandsmarineterminatingperipheralglaciers19852018 AT rebeccamuhlheim dynamicmasslossfromgreenlandsmarineterminatingperipheralglaciers19852018 |