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Is the Greenland Ice Sheet in a state of collapse?
Author(s) -
Christoffersen Poul,
Hambrey Michael J.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
geology today
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.188
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 1365-2451
pISSN - 0266-6979
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2451.2006.00561.x
Subject(s) - greenland ice sheet , ice sheet , geology , future sea level , ice sheet model , glacier , oceanography , climatology , glacier morphology , arctic , arctic ice pack , ice stream , ice divide , ice caps , cryosphere , physical geography , antarctic sea ice , sea ice , geomorphology , geography
The Greenland Ice Sheet is thinning at an accelerating pace and the ice sheet's contribution to sea‐level rise has doubled in less than a decade. New data show rapid and widespread changes in the behaviour of the ice sheet, particularly along the coastal margin. These changes coincide with a decade of sustained Arctic warming of up to 3 °C. Decay of the Greenland Ice Sheet in response to global warming will not only be governed by increased surface melting during longer and warmer summers but also by a speed‐up of coastal glaciers that drain the interior ice sheet. A precise estimate of sea‐level rise in the twenty‐first century relies on improved theoretical treatment of these glaciers in computer models.