Article (Scientific journals)
Rapid expansion of Greenland’s low-permeability ice slabs
MacFerrin, Michael; Machguth, Horst; van As, D. et al.
2019In Nature, 573
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Abstract :
[en] In recent decades, meltwater runoff has accelerated to become the dominant mechanism for mass loss in the Greenland ice sheet1,2,3. In Greenland’s high-elevation interior, porous snow and firn accumulate; these can absorb surface meltwater and inhibit runoff4, but this buffering effect is limited if enough water refreezes near the surface to restrict percolation5,6. However, the influence of refreezing on runoff from Greenland remains largely unquantified. Here we use firn cores, radar observations and regional climate models to show that recent increases in meltwater have resulted in the formation of metres-thick, low-permeability ‘ice slabs’ that have expanded the Greenland ice sheet’s total runoff area by 26 ± 3 per cent since 2001. Although runoff from the top of ice slabs has added less than one millimetre to global sea-level rise so far, this contribution will grow substantially as ice slabs expand inland in a warming climate. Runoff over ice slabs is set to contribute 7 to 33 millimetres and 17 to 74 millimetres to global sea-level rise by 2100 under moderate- and high-emissions scenarios, respectively—approximately double the estimated runoff from Greenland’s high-elevation interior, as predicted by surface mass balance models without ice slabs. Ice slabs will have an important role in enhancing surface meltwater feedback processes, fundamentally altering the ice sheet’s present and future hydrology.
Disciplines :
Earth sciences & physical geography
Author, co-author :
MacFerrin, Michael
Machguth, Horst
van As, D.
Charalampidis, Charalampos
Stevens, C.
Heilig, Achim
Vandecrux, Baptiste
Langen, Peter
Mottram, R.
Fettweis, Xavier  ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de géographie > Climatologie et Topoclimatologie
van den Broeke, M.
Pfeffer, W.
Moussavi, M.
Abdalati, Waleed
More authors (4 more) Less
Language :
English
Title :
Rapid expansion of Greenland’s low-permeability ice slabs
Publication date :
18 September 2019
Journal title :
Nature
ISSN :
0028-0836
eISSN :
1476-4687
Publisher :
Nature Publishing Group, London, United Kingdom
Volume :
573
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Tags :
Tier-1 supercomputer
CÉCI : Consortium des Équipements de Calcul Intensif
Funders :
F.R.S.-FNRS - Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique [BE]
CÉCI - Consortium des Équipements de Calcul Intensif [BE]
Tier-1
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