In:
Science Advances, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Vol. 7, No. 1 ( 2021-01)
Abstract:
The retreat and acceleration of Greenland glaciers since the mid-1990s have been attributed to the enhanced intrusion of warm Atlantic Waters (AW) into fjords, but this assertion has not been quantitatively tested on a Greenland-wide basis or included in models. Here, we investigate how AW influenced retreat at 226 marine-terminating glaciers using ocean modeling, remote sensing, and in situ observations. We identify 74 glaciers in deep fjords with AW controlling 49% of the mass loss that retreated when warming increased undercutting by 48%. Conversely, 27 glaciers calving on shallow ridges and 24 in cold, shallow waters retreated little, contributing 15% of the loss, while 10 glaciers retreated substantially following the collapse of several ice shelves. The retreat mechanisms remain undiagnosed at 87 glaciers without ocean and bathymetry data, which controlled 19% of the loss. Ice sheet projections that exclude ocean-induced undercutting may underestimate mass loss by at least a factor of 2.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2375-2548
DOI:
10.1126/sciadv.aba7282
Language:
English
Publisher:
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Publication Date:
2021
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2810933-8
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