scholarly journals Wintertime storage of water in buried supraglacial lakes across the Greenland Ice Sheet

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 1333-1342 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. S. Koenig ◽  
D. J. Lampkin ◽  
L. N. Montgomery ◽  
S. L. Hamilton ◽  
J. B. Turrin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Total Mass ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Surface Expression ◽  
Subsurface Water ◽  
Blue Color ◽  
Total Mass Loss ◽  
Supraglacial Lakes ◽  
Hydrologic System

Abstract. Increased surface melt over the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is now estimated to account for half or more of the ice sheet's total mass loss. Here, we show that some meltwater is stored, over winter, in buried supraglacial lakes. We use airborne radar from Operation IceBridge between 2009 and 2012 to detect buried supraglacial lakes, and we find that they were distributed extensively around the GrIS margin through that period. Buried supraglacial lakes can persist through multiple winters and are, on average, ~ 1.9 + 0.2 m below the surface. Most buried supraglacial lakes exist with no surface expression of their occurrence in visible imagery. The few buried supraglacial lakes that do exhibit surface expression have a unique visible signature associated with a darker blue color where subsurface water is located. The volume of retained water in the buried supraglacial lakes is likely insignificant compared to the total mass loss from the GrIS, but the water may have important implications locally for the development of the englacial hydrologic system and ice temperatures. Buried supraglacial lakes represent a small but year-round source of meltwater in the GrIS hydrologic system.

scholarly journals Wintertime storage of water in buried supraglacial lakes across the Greenland Ice Sheet

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 3999-4031 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. S. Koenig ◽  
D. J. Lampkin ◽  
L. N. Montgomery ◽  
S. L. Hamilton ◽  
J. B. Turrin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Total Mass ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Subsurface Water ◽  
Blue Color ◽  
Total Mass Loss ◽  
Supraglacial Lakes ◽  
Hydrologic System ◽  
Surface Melt

Abstract. Surface melt over the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is increasing and estimated to account for half or more of the total mass loss. Little, however, is known about the hydrologic pathways that route surface melt within the ice sheet. In this study, we present over-winter storage of water in buried supraglacial lakes as one hydrologic pathway for surface melt, referred to as buried lakes. Airborne radar echograms are used to detect the buried lakes that are distributed extensively around the margin of the GrIS. The subsurface water can persist through multiple winters and is, on average, ~4.2 + 0.4 m below the surface. The few buried lakes that are visible at the surface of the GrIS have a~unique visible signature associated with a darker blue color where subsurface water is located. The volume of retained water in the buried lakes is likely insignificant compared to the total mass loss from the GrIS but the water will have important implications locally for the development of the englacial hydrologic network, ice temperature profiles and glacial dynamics. The buried lakes represent a small but year-round source of meltwater in the GrIS hydrologic system.

scholarly journals Contribution of the Greenland Ice Sheet to sea level over the next millennium

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. eaav9396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy Aschwanden ◽  
Mark A. Fahnestock ◽  
Martin Truffer ◽  
Douglas J. Brinkerhoff ◽  
Regine Hock ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Total Mass ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Climate Scenarios ◽  
Outlet Glacier ◽  
Total Mass Loss ◽  
A Minor

The Greenland Ice Sheet holds 7.2 m of sea level equivalent and in recent decades, rising temperatures have led to accelerated mass loss. Current ice margin recession is led by the retreat of outlet glaciers, large rivers of ice ending in narrow fjords that drain the interior. We pair an outlet glacier–resolving ice sheet model with a comprehensive uncertainty quantification to estimate Greenland’s contribution to sea level over the next millennium. We find that Greenland could contribute 5 to 33 cm to sea level by 2100, with discharge from outlet glaciers contributing 8 to 45% of total mass loss. Our analysis shows that uncertainties in projecting mass loss are dominated by uncertainties in climate scenarios and surface processes, whereas uncertainties in calving and frontal melt play a minor role. We project that Greenland will very likely become ice free within a millennium without substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

scholarly journals Ice dynamics will remain a primary driver of Greenland ice sheet mass loss over the next century

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Youngmin Choi ◽  
Mathieu Morlighem ◽  
Eric Rignot ◽  
Michael Wood
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Surface Mass Balance ◽  
Ice Dynamics ◽  
Surface Mass ◽  
Flow Acceleration ◽  
Total Mass Loss

AbstractThe mass loss of the Greenland Ice Sheet is nearly equally partitioned between a decrease in surface mass balance from enhanced surface melt and an increase in ice dynamics from the acceleration and retreat of its marine-terminating glaciers. Much uncertainty remains in the future mass loss of the Greenland Ice Sheet due to the challenges of capturing the ice dynamic response to climate change in numerical models. Here, we estimate the sea level contribution of the Greenland Ice Sheet over the 21st century using an ice-sheet wide, high-resolution, ice-ocean numerical model that includes surface mass balance forcing, thermal forcing from the ocean, and iceberg calving dynamics. The model is calibrated with ice front observations from the past eleven years to capture the recent evolution of marine-terminating glaciers. Under a business as usual scenario, we find that northwest and central west Greenland glaciers will contribute more mass loss than other regions due to ice front retreat and ice flow acceleration. By the end of century, ice discharge from marine-terminating glaciers will contribute 50 ± 20% of the total mass loss, or twice as much as previously estimated although the contribution from the surface mass balance increases towards the end of the century.

scholarly journals Decreasing cloud cover drives the recent mass loss on the Greenland Ice Sheet

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. e1700584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Hofer ◽  
Andrew J. Tedstone ◽  
Xavier Fettweis ◽  
Jonathan L. Bamber
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Cloud Cover ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet

scholarly journals Accelerated Greenland Ice Sheet Mass Loss under High Greenhouse Gas Forcing as Simulated by the Coupled CESM2.1-CISM2.1

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Muntjewerf ◽  
Raymond Sellevold ◽  
Miren Vizcaino ◽  
Carolina Ernani da Silva ◽  
Michele Petrini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet

Acceleration of the Greenland ice sheet mass loss as observed by GRACE: Confidence and sensitivity

2013 ◽  
Vol 364 ◽  
pp. 24-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.L. Svendsen ◽  
O.B. Andersen ◽  
A.A. Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet

Leaching of Am-241 from a Radioactive Waste Glass Corroded in the Presence of Stainless Steel Corrosion Products and/or Bentonite

1987 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masaki Tsukamoto ◽  
Inga-Kari Björner ◽  
Hilbert Christensen ◽  
Hans-Peter Hermansson ◽  
Lars Werme
Keyword(s):  
Stainless Steel ◽  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Mass Loss ◽  
Total Mass ◽  
Corrosion Behaviour ◽  
Steel Corrosion ◽  
Waste Glass ◽  
Corrosion Products ◽  
Total Mass Loss ◽  
Elemental Mass

AbstractThe release of Am-241 during corrosion of the radioactive waste glass, JSS-A, has been studied in the presence of corrosion products and/or uncom-pacted bentonite. The corrosion behaviour of Am-241 has been analyzed using gamma spectrometry. Adsorption of Am-241 on bentonite is observed in all cases. The contents of Am-241 in centrifuged leachates are in most cases less than 1/100 of total values. The normalized elemental mass loss of Am increases initially with corrosion time, and the values in the presence of bentonite and corrosion products are larger than those in the presence of bentonite alone. This tendency is in agreement with results previously found for other elements. The release of Am is low, only about 10–20 % of the corresponding total mass loss.

scholarly journals Monitoring southwest Greenland’s ice sheet melt with ambient seismic noise

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. e1501538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurélien Mordret ◽  
T. Dylan Mikesell ◽  
Christopher Harig ◽  
Bradley P. Lipovsky ◽  
Germán A. Prieto
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Seismic Noise ◽  
Seismic Velocity ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Sea Level Changes ◽  
Ice Sheet Mass Balance ◽  
Velocity Changes

The Greenland ice sheet presently accounts for ~70% of global ice sheet mass loss. Because this mass loss is associated with sea-level rise at a rate of 0.7 mm/year, the development of improved monitoring techniques to observe ongoing changes in ice sheet mass balance is of paramount concern. Spaceborne mass balance techniques are commonly used; however, they are inadequate for many purposes because of their low spatial and/or temporal resolution. We demonstrate that small variations in seismic wave speed in Earth’s crust, as measured with the correlation of seismic noise, may be used to infer seasonal ice sheet mass balance. Seasonal loading and unloading of glacial mass induces strain in the crust, and these strains then result in seismic velocity changes due to poroelastic processes. Our method provides a new and independent way of monitoring (in near real time) ice sheet mass balance, yielding new constraints on ice sheet evolution and its contribution to global sea-level changes. An increased number of seismic stations in the vicinity of ice sheets will enhance our ability to create detailed space-time records of ice mass variations.

Greenland ice sheet hydrology

2013 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vena W. Chu
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Ice Dynamics ◽  
Surface Water Hydrology ◽  
Basal Sliding ◽  
Hydrologic System ◽  
Global Sea Level

Understanding Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) hydrology is essential for evaluating response of ice dynamics to a warming climate and future contributions to global sea level rise. Recently observed increases in temperature and melt extent over the GrIS have prompted numerous remote sensing, modeling, and field studies gauging the response of the ice sheet and outlet glaciers to increasing meltwater input, providing a quickly growing body of literature describing seasonal and annual development of the GrIS hydrologic system. This system is characterized by supraglacial streams and lakes that drain through moulins, providing an influx of meltwater into englacial and subglacial environments that increases basal sliding speeds of outlet glaciers in the short term. However, englacial and subglacial drainage systems may adjust to efficiently drain increased meltwater without significant changes to ice dynamics over seasonal and annual scales. Both proglacial rivers originating from land-terminating glaciers and subglacial conduits under marine-terminating glaciers represent direct meltwater outputs in the form of fjord sediment plumes, visible in remotely sensed imagery. This review provides the current state of knowledge on GrIS surface water hydrology, following ice sheet surface meltwater production and transport via supra-, en-, sub-, and proglacial processes to final meltwater export to the ocean. With continued efforts targeting both process-level and systems analysis of the hydrologic system, the larger picture of how future changes in Greenland hydrology will affect ice sheet glacier dynamics and ultimately global sea level rise can be advanced.

scholarly journals On the recent contribution of the Greenland ice sheet to sea level change

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 1933-1946 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michiel R. van den Broeke ◽  
Ellyn M. Enderlin ◽  
Ian M. Howat ◽  
Peter Kuipers Munneke ◽  
Brice P. Y. Noël ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Pore Space ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Sea Level Change ◽  
Recent Contribution ◽  
Surface Mass ◽  
Level Change

Abstract. We assess the recent contribution of the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) to sea level change. We use the mass budget method, which quantifies ice sheet mass balance (MB) as the difference between surface mass balance (SMB) and solid ice discharge across the grounding line (D). A comparison with independent gravity change observations from GRACE shows good agreement for the overlapping period 2002–2015, giving confidence in the partitioning of recent GrIS mass changes. The estimated 1995 value of D and the 1958–1995 average value of SMB are similar at 411 and 418 Gt yr−1, respectively, suggesting that ice flow in the mid-1990s was well adjusted to the average annual mass input, reminiscent of an ice sheet in approximate balance. Starting in the early to mid-1990s, SMB decreased while D increased, leading to quasi-persistent negative MB. About 60 % of the associated mass loss since 1991 is caused by changes in SMB and the remainder by D. The decrease in SMB is fully driven by an increase in surface melt and subsequent meltwater runoff, which is slightly compensated by a small ( <  3 %) increase in snowfall. The excess runoff originates from low-lying ( <  2000 m a.s.l.) parts of the ice sheet; higher up, increased refreezing prevents runoff of meltwater from occurring, at the expense of increased firn temperatures and depleted pore space. With a 1991–2015 average annual mass loss of  ∼  0.47 ± 0.23 mm sea level equivalent (SLE) and a peak contribution of 1.2 mm SLE in 2012, the GrIS has recently become a major source of global mean sea level rise.

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