Variations in Greenland surface melt and extreme events from 1958 to 2023

[en] Surface melt and subsequent runoff have been the main contributors to recent Greenland mass loss. However, previous studies mainly focused on the extent and persistence of surface melt. The variations in surface melt rates and extreme events have not been adequately known, especially the role of extremes in the long-term surface melt changes. Here, using two high-resolution regional climate models (RACMO2.3p2 and MARv3.14), we analyzed the variations in Greenland surface melt in 1958–2023. Both models (RACMO/MAR) show that annual surface melt is rapidly increasing post-1990 at a rate of 8.6 ± 4.9/7.2 ± 4.4 Gt per year. The northern regions show the strongest relative regional increase rate (3.9% ± 1.9%/3.4% ± 1.6% per year), contributing more surface melt to the whole Greenland. Based on the 90th percentile of the daily distribution, we found that extreme melt events from May to September (M–S) have become more frequent post–1990 (0.7/0.8 ± 0.5 d per year). Compared with 1958–1990, M–S melt from extreme events has increased by 134/105 Gt per year and dominates the increase in the total surface melt. During extreme events, we found an increase in downward longwave radiation, net shortwave radiation and sensible heat flux. The rise in surface melt and extreme events post-1990 is linked to more frequent atmospheric blocking. This study improves our understanding of the role in ice sheet mass balance played by long-term variations in ice sheet surface melt and extreme events.

Research Center/Unit :

SPHERES - ULiège

Disciplines :

Earth sciences & physical geography

Author, co-author :

ZHANG, Qing-Lin

DING, Ming-Hu

VAN DEN BROEKE, Michiel R.

Noël, Brice ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de géographie > Climatologie et Topoclimatologie

Fettweis, Xavier ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de géographie > Climatologie et Topoclimatologie

WANG, Sai

SUN, Wei-Jun

YOU, Qing-Long

XIAO, Cun-De

QIN, Da-He

HUAI, Bao-Juan

Language :

English

Title :

Variations in Greenland surface melt and extreme events from 1958 to 2023

Publication date :

May 2025

Journal title :

Advances in Climate Change Research

ISSN :

1674-9278

Publisher :

Elsevier

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Tags :

CÉCI : Consortium des Équipements de Calcul Intensif

Additional URL :

https://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S1674927825001170?httpAccept=text/xml

Available on ORBi :

since 28 May 2025

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