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The pattern of anthropogenic signal emergence in Greenland Ice Sheet surface mass balance
Author(s) -
Fyke Jeremy G.,
Vizcaíno Miren,
Lipscomb William H.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2014gl060735
Subject(s) - greenland ice sheet , glacier mass balance , forcing (mathematics) , future sea level , climatology , ice sheet , climate change , environmental science , groenlandia , geology , snow , ice core , physical geography , atmospheric sciences , cryosphere , ice stream , glacier , geography , oceanography , paleontology , geomorphology , sea ice
Abstract Surface mass balance (SMB) trends influence observed Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) mass loss, but the component of these trends related to anthropogenic forcing is unclear. Here we study the simulated spatial pattern of emergence of an anthropogenically derived GrIS SMB signal between 1850 and 2100 using the Community Earth System Model. We find emergence timing heterogeneity, with a bimodal structure reflecting interior snowfall increases against a background of low SMB variability, and peripheral surface melting increases against a backdrop of high SMB variability. We also find a nonemerging intermediate region. We conclude that (1) a bimodal pattern of GrIS SMB change will unambiguously reflect the impact of anthropogenic forcing; (2) present‐day peripheral and interior SMB trends likely have an underlying anthropogenically forced component; (3) local emergence occurs well before emergence of a spatially integrated signal; and (4) the GrIS summit region may be an ideal location for monitoring regional/global climate change.