Rapid increases in satellite-observed ice sheet surface meltwater production

[en] Surface meltwater production influences the contribution of ice sheets to global sea-level change. Ice-sheet-wide meltwater production has thus far primarily been quantified by regional climate models. Here we present a 31-year (1992–2023) time series of daily satellite-observed surface melt flux for the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. The annual meltwater volume in Greenland has significantly increased, with intensified melt in the northern basins dominated by a negative North Atlantic Oscillation and elevated melt flux in western basins driven by the decline in Arctic sea-ice. In East Antarctica, high melt rates since 2000 are attributed to warm air incursions from the Southern Ocean due to anomalous atmospheric circulations associated with a negative Southern Annular Mode and the recovery of the Antarctic ozone hole. This region, previously less prone to surface melt, has become a melt hotspot, potentially leading to meltwater ponding and future ice shelf destabilization.

Research Center/Unit :

SPHERES - ULiège

Disciplines :

Earth sciences & physical geography

Author, co-author :

Zheng, Lei

Shang, Xinyi

van den Broeke, Michiel R.

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

Li, Xichen

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

Liang, Qi

Wang, Kang

Liu, Jiping

Cheng, Xiao

Language :

English

Title :

Rapid increases in satellite-observed ice sheet surface meltwater production

Publication date :

July 2025

Journal title :

Nature Climate Change

ISSN :

1758-678X

eISSN :

1758-6798

Publisher :

Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Volume :

Issue :

Pages :

769-774

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Tags :

CÉCI : Consortium des Équipements de Calcul Intensif

Additional URL :

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02364-4.pdf

Available on ORBi :

since 09 July 2025

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