Abstract
From early 2003 to mid-2013, the total mass of ice in Greenland declined at a progressively increasing rate. In mid-2013, an abrupt reversal occurred, and very little net ice loss occurred in the next 12-18 months. Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and global positioning system (GPS) observations reveal that the spatial patterns of the sustained acceleration and the abrupt deceleration in mass loss are similar. The strongest accelerations tracked the phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The negative phase of the NAO enhances summertime warming and insolation while reducing snowfall, especially in west Greenland, driving surface mass balance (SMB) more negative, as illustrated using the regional climate model MAR. The spatial pattern of accelerating mass changes reflects the geography of NAO-driven shifts in atmospheric forcing and the ice sheet's sensitivity to that forcing. We infer that southwest Greenland will become a major future contributor to sea level rise.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1934-1939 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
| Volume | 116 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 5 2019 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
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Accelerating changes in ice mass within Greenland, and the ice sheet's sensitivity to atmospheric forcing. / Bevis, Michael; Harig, Christopher; Khan, Shfaqat A.; Brown, Abel; Simons, Frederik Jozef; Willis, Michael; Fettweis, Xavier; Van Den Broeke, Michiel R.; Madsen, Finn Bo; Kendrick, Eric; Caccamise, Dana J.; Van Dam, Tonie; Knudsen, Per; Nylen, Thomas.
In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 116, No. 6, 05.02.2019, p. 1934-1939.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Accelerating changes in ice mass within Greenland, and the ice sheet's sensitivity to atmospheric forcing
AU - Bevis, Michael
AU - Harig, Christopher
AU - Khan, Shfaqat A.
AU - Brown, Abel
AU - Simons, Frederik Jozef
AU - Willis, Michael
AU - Fettweis, Xavier
AU - Van Den Broeke, Michiel R.
AU - Madsen, Finn Bo
AU - Kendrick, Eric
AU - Caccamise, Dana J.
AU - Van Dam, Tonie
AU - Knudsen, Per
AU - Nylen, Thomas
PY - 2019/2/5
Y1 - 2019/2/5
N2 - From early 2003 to mid-2013, the total mass of ice in Greenland declined at a progressively increasing rate. In mid-2013, an abrupt reversal occurred, and very little net ice loss occurred in the next 12-18 months. Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and global positioning system (GPS) observations reveal that the spatial patterns of the sustained acceleration and the abrupt deceleration in mass loss are similar. The strongest accelerations tracked the phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The negative phase of the NAO enhances summertime warming and insolation while reducing snowfall, especially in west Greenland, driving surface mass balance (SMB) more negative, as illustrated using the regional climate model MAR. The spatial pattern of accelerating mass changes reflects the geography of NAO-driven shifts in atmospheric forcing and the ice sheet's sensitivity to that forcing. We infer that southwest Greenland will become a major future contributor to sea level rise.
AB - From early 2003 to mid-2013, the total mass of ice in Greenland declined at a progressively increasing rate. In mid-2013, an abrupt reversal occurred, and very little net ice loss occurred in the next 12-18 months. Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and global positioning system (GPS) observations reveal that the spatial patterns of the sustained acceleration and the abrupt deceleration in mass loss are similar. The strongest accelerations tracked the phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The negative phase of the NAO enhances summertime warming and insolation while reducing snowfall, especially in west Greenland, driving surface mass balance (SMB) more negative, as illustrated using the regional climate model MAR. The spatial pattern of accelerating mass changes reflects the geography of NAO-driven shifts in atmospheric forcing and the ice sheet's sensitivity to that forcing. We infer that southwest Greenland will become a major future contributor to sea level rise.
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U2 - https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1806562116
DO - https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1806562116
M3 - Article
VL - 116
SP - 1934
EP - 1939
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
SN - 0027-8424
IS - 6
ER -