Open AccessResearch Spotlight: Meltwater within glaciers speeds ice sheet warming
Author(s) -
Kumar Mohi,
Tretkoff Ernie
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/eo091i047p00456-05
Subject(s) - meltwater , glacier , ice stream , ice sheet , geology , global warming , ice sheet model , glacier ice accumulation , climatology , glacier morphology , climate change , environmental science , cryosphere , geomorphology , oceanography , sea ice
Ice sheets and glaciers have been observed to respond rapidly to climate warming. Cryohydrologic warming, a new mechanism proposed by Phillips et al. , could explain why. Meltwater can flow through networks of crevasses and fractures that develop or expand within glaciers as the climate warms. Some liquid water can remain in a glacier without refreezing after the summer melt season ends. Heat exchange between this englacial water and the ice can accelerate warming of ice sheets, the authors explain.