Accelerated Volume Loss in Glacier Ablation Zones of NE Greenland, Little Ice Age to Present

Abstract Mountain glaciers at the periphery of the Greenland ice sheet are a crucial freshwater and sediment source to the North Atlantic and strongly impact Arctic terrestrial, fjord, and coastal biogeochemical cycles. In this study we mapped the extent of 1,848 mountain glaciers in NE Greenland at...

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Main Authors: Jonathan L. Carrivick, Clare M. Boston, Owen King, William H. M. James, Duncan J. Quincey, Mark W. Smith, Michael Grimes, Jeff Evans
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2019-02-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL081383
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author Jonathan L. Carrivick
Clare M. Boston
Owen King
William H. M. James
Duncan J. Quincey
Mark W. Smith
Michael Grimes
Jeff Evans
author_facet Jonathan L. Carrivick
Clare M. Boston
Owen King
William H. M. James
Duncan J. Quincey
Mark W. Smith
Michael Grimes
Jeff Evans
author_sort Jonathan L. Carrivick
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Mountain glaciers at the periphery of the Greenland ice sheet are a crucial freshwater and sediment source to the North Atlantic and strongly impact Arctic terrestrial, fjord, and coastal biogeochemical cycles. In this study we mapped the extent of 1,848 mountain glaciers in NE Greenland at the Little Ice Age. We determined area and volume changes for the time periods Little Ice Age to 1980s and 1980s to 2014 and equilibrium line altitudes. There was at least 172.76 ± 34.55‐km3 volume lost between 1910 and 1980s, that is, a rate of 2.61 ± 0.52 km3/year. Between 1980s and 2014 the volume lost was 90.55 ± 18.11 km3, that is, a rate of 3.22 ± 0.64 km3/year, implying an increase of ~23% in the rate of ice volume loss. Overall, at least ~7% of mass loss from Greenland mountain glaciers and ice caps has come from the NE sector.
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institution Kabale University
issn 0094-8276
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publishDate 2019-02-01
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series Geophysical Research Letters
spelling doaj-art-34c101b46f5140fcb0f35a23fee2c0d42025-08-20T03:49:45ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072019-02-014631476148410.1029/2018GL081383Accelerated Volume Loss in Glacier Ablation Zones of NE Greenland, Little Ice Age to PresentJonathan L. Carrivick0Clare M. Boston1Owen King2William H. M. James3Duncan J. Quincey4Mark W. Smith5Michael Grimes6Jeff Evans7School of Geography University of Leeds Leeds UKDepartment of Geography University of Portsmouth Portsmouth UKDepartment of Geography University of Zurich Zurich SwitzerlandSchool of Geography University of Leeds Leeds UKSchool of Geography University of Leeds Leeds UKSchool of Geography University of Leeds Leeds UKSchool of Geography University of Leeds Leeds UKDepartment of Geography University of Loughborough Loughborough UKAbstract Mountain glaciers at the periphery of the Greenland ice sheet are a crucial freshwater and sediment source to the North Atlantic and strongly impact Arctic terrestrial, fjord, and coastal biogeochemical cycles. In this study we mapped the extent of 1,848 mountain glaciers in NE Greenland at the Little Ice Age. We determined area and volume changes for the time periods Little Ice Age to 1980s and 1980s to 2014 and equilibrium line altitudes. There was at least 172.76 ± 34.55‐km3 volume lost between 1910 and 1980s, that is, a rate of 2.61 ± 0.52 km3/year. Between 1980s and 2014 the volume lost was 90.55 ± 18.11 km3, that is, a rate of 3.22 ± 0.64 km3/year, implying an increase of ~23% in the rate of ice volume loss. Overall, at least ~7% of mass loss from Greenland mountain glaciers and ice caps has come from the NE sector.https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL081383GreenlandLittle Ice Ageglaciersea levelvolume lossproglacial
spellingShingle Jonathan L. Carrivick
Clare M. Boston
Owen King
William H. M. James
Duncan J. Quincey
Mark W. Smith
Michael Grimes
Jeff Evans
Accelerated Volume Loss in Glacier Ablation Zones of NE Greenland, Little Ice Age to Present
Geophysical Research Letters
Greenland
Little Ice Age
glacier
sea level
volume loss
proglacial
title Accelerated Volume Loss in Glacier Ablation Zones of NE Greenland, Little Ice Age to Present
title_full Accelerated Volume Loss in Glacier Ablation Zones of NE Greenland, Little Ice Age to Present
title_fullStr Accelerated Volume Loss in Glacier Ablation Zones of NE Greenland, Little Ice Age to Present
title_full_unstemmed Accelerated Volume Loss in Glacier Ablation Zones of NE Greenland, Little Ice Age to Present
title_short Accelerated Volume Loss in Glacier Ablation Zones of NE Greenland, Little Ice Age to Present
title_sort accelerated volume loss in glacier ablation zones of ne greenland little ice age to present
topic Greenland
Little Ice Age
glacier
sea level
volume loss
proglacial
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL081383
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