Basin-scale partitioning of Greenland ice sheet mass balance components (2007–2011)

Andersen, M.; Stenseng, Lars; Skourup, Henriette; Colgan, William; Khan, Shfaqat Abbas; Kristensen, Steen Savstrup; Andersen, S. B.; Box, Jason E.; Ahlstrøm, Andreas P.; Fettweis, Xavier; Forsberg, R.

doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2014.10.015

Cited by 74 publications

(114 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Numerous studies have found the GrIS to be spatially heterogeneous, and that local climate and geometry influence mass balance parameters on the basin scale (e.g., Vernon et al, 2013;Andersen et al, 2015;Seo et al, 2015). For comparison, model fields have been interpolated to a common grid using a tension spline interpolation algorithm (Renka, 1997).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Characterization of Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Melt and Runoff in Contemporary Reanalyses and a Regional Climate Model

et al. 2016

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Characterization of Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Melt and Runoff in Contemporary Reanalyses and a Regional Climate Model

et al. 2016

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“…For most tidewater glaciers the terminus velocity is driven by basal sliding [9] keeping the factor ( f ) closer to unity. We used a value of 0.93 ± 0.05 from the study by Andersen et al (2015) [32] which covers fast flowing tidewater glaciers in Greenland. We assumed a mean ice density (ρ ice ) of 917 kg m −3 , (ϑ n ) is the magnitude of surface velocity and (α n ) is the angle of glacier flow direction with respect to the cross-sectional plane of the flux gate.…”

Section: Mass Flux (Ice Discharge)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal and Interannual Variability of Columbia Glacier, Alaska (2011–2016): Ice Velocity, Mass Flux, Surface Elevation and Front Position

Vijay

Braun

2017

Remote Sensing

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Alaskan glaciers are among the largest contributors to sea-level rise outside the polar ice sheets. The contributions include dynamic discharge from marine-terminating glaciers which depends on the seasonally variable ice velocity. Columbia Glacier is a large marine-terminating glacier located in Southcentral Alaska that has been exhibiting pronounced retreat since the early 1980s. Since 2010, the glacier has split into two branches, the main branch and the west branch. We derived a 5-year record of surface velocity, mass flux (ice discharge), surface elevation and changes in front position using a dense time series of TanDEM-X synthetic aperture radar data (2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016). We observed distinct seasonal velocity patterns at both branches. At the main branch, the surface velocity peaked during late winter to midsummer but reached a minimum between late summer and fall. Its near-front velocity reached up to 14 m day −1 in May 2015 and was at its lowest speed of~1 m day −1 in October 2012. Mass flux via the main branch was strongly controlled by the seasonal and interannual fluctuations of its velocity. The west branch also exhibited seasonal velocity variations with comparably lower magnitudes. The role of subglacial hydrology on the ice velocities of Columbia Glacier is already known from the published field measurements during summers of 1987. Our observed variability in its ice velocities on a seasonal basis also suggest that they are primarily controlled by the seasonal transition of the subglacial drainage system from an inefficient to an efficient and channelized drainage networks. However, abrupt velocity increase events for short periods (2014-2015 and 2015-2016 at the main branch, and 2013-2014 at the west branch) appear to be associated with strong near-front thinning and frontal retreat. This needs further investigation on the role of other potential controlling mechanisms. On the technological side, this study demonstrates the potential of high-resolution X-band SAR missions with a short revisit interval to examine glaciological variables and controlling processes.

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“…Climate models and remote sensing of ice sheet mass balance indicate that the GrIS is losing mass at an increasing rate (Shepherd et al, 2012;Tedesco et al, 2013;Andersen et al, 2015;Khan et al, 2015). The GrIS experienced a record mass loss in 2012 (Tedesco et al, 2013), when the combined surface mass balance and ice dynamic components of mass loss eclipsed the 2010 record loss (Tedesco et al, 2011;Sasgen et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying the Surface Energy Fluxes in South Greenland during the 2012 High Melt Episodes Using In-situ Observations

Fausto

Box

et al. 2016

Front. Earth Sci.

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Two high melt episodes occurred on the Greenland ice sheet in July 2012, during which nearly the entire ice sheet surface experienced melting. Observations from an automatic weather station (AWS) in the lower ablation area in South Greenland reveal the largest daily melt rates (up to 28 cm d −1 ice equivalent) ever recorded on the ice sheet. The two melt episodes lasted 6 days, equivalent to 6% of the June-August melt period, but contributed 14% to the total annual ablation of 8.5 m ice equivalent. We employ a surface energy balance (SEB) model driven by AWS data to quantify the relative importance of the energy budget components contributing to melt through the melt season. During the days with largest daily melt rates, surface turbulent heat input peaked at 552 Wm −2 , 77% of the surface melt energy, which is otherwise typically dominated by absorbed solar radiation. We find that rain contributed ca. 7% to melt during these episodes.

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Basin-scale partitioning of Greenland ice sheet mass balance components (2007–2011)

Cited by 74 publications

References 34 publications

A Characterization of Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Melt and Runoff in Contemporary Reanalyses and a Regional Climate Model

A Characterization of Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Melt and Runoff in Contemporary Reanalyses and a Regional Climate Model

Seasonal and Interannual Variability of Columbia Glacier, Alaska (2011–2016): Ice Velocity, Mass Flux, Surface Elevation and Front Position

Quantifying the Surface Energy Fluxes in South Greenland during the 2012 High Melt Episodes Using In-situ Observations

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