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Rapid Reconfiguration of the Greenland Ice Sheet Coastal Margin
Author(s) -
Moon Twila A.,
Gardner Alex S.,
Csatho Beata,
Parmuzin Ivan,
Fahnestock Mark A.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: earth surface
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9011
pISSN - 2169-9003
DOI - 10.1029/2020jf005585
Subject(s) - geology , ice stream , ice sheet , deglaciation , greenland ice sheet , ice sheet model , glacier morphology , glacier , antarctic ice sheet , future sea level , geomorphology , cryosphere , oceanography , glacial period , sea ice
The Greenland Ice Sheet has lost mass at an accelerating rate over the last two decades, but limits of early remote sensing restricted examination of localized change at an ice‐sheet‐wide scale. We use satellite‐derived ice sheet surface velocities, glacier terminus advance/retreat, and surface elevation change data spanning ~1985–2015 to explore local characteristics of what is now a rapid reconfiguration of the ice sheet coastal margin. Widespread glacier terminus retreat is a more consistent climate response indicator than surface velocities, though local velocity patterns provide indicators of ice flow reconfiguration, including narrowing zones of fast‐flow, ice flow rerouting, and outlet abandonment. The implications of this observed rapid reconfiguration are wide ranging and likely include alteration of subglacial hydrology, iceberg discharge, liquid freshwater flux, potential nutrient and sediment flux, and mass flux. Without detailed observations of earlier deglaciations and with present limits on ice sheet model capabilities, these observational records provide an important analogue for past deglaciation and for projecting future ice loss.