Articles tagged with Ice Sheets
A nearly 2,240 square-mile iceberg broke off from Antarctica's Larsen C ice shelf between July 10 and 12. The event has reduced the ice shelf area by approximately 10 percent, sparking concerns about potential destabilization of the remaining ice shelf.
A Danish-led study found that microbes in Greenland's ice sheet can resist and degrade globally-emitted pollutants like mercury, lead, and PAHs. The research highlights the need for more attention to the release of anthropogenic contaminants as climate change melts the ice sheets.
A new study from University of Arizona scientists has analyzed Greenland's past temperatures to better understand the island's vast ice sheet melting. The research found that current temperatures are warmer than the 1930s, with a long-term trend for ever-higher surface temperatures.
A recent study found that reduced summer cloud cover over Greenland has led to increased ice melt, with a one percent decrease in cloud cover resulting in 27 gigatons of extra melting. This contributes significantly to global sea level rise.
The Eurasian ice sheet's collapse 23,000 years ago led to a 20m drop in global sea level and severe flooding. The study reveals that this event was ten times more significant than current rates of ice loss from Greenland and Antarctica.
Researchers discovered massive craters in the Arctic sea floor that were formed 12,000 years ago, with methane still leaking profusely. The study found over 600 gas flares releasing methane into the water column, with similar processes ongoing under ice sheets today.
Researchers will drill boreholes to study firn layer's structure and temperature, shedding light on heat absorption and sea level rise implications.
A team of researchers has uncovered a hidden world of water conduits and sediment ridges beneath the Antarctic ice sheet. These features are five times larger than those seen in deglaciated landscapes, shaping the ice hundreds of kilometers downstream.
Researchers find that parts of Antarctica's ice sheet have remained stable for millions of years, despite recent warming. The discovery helps scientists refine predictions of the region's response to climate change and potential contribution to sea level rise.
Researchers reconstructed the evolution of Iceland's last ice sheet, revealing rapid changes occurred when temperatures rose by 3°C in just 500 years. This period mirrors modern-day ice sheet behavior and provides evidence for significant sea level rise.
Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin identified four glaciers in West Greenland most susceptible to thinning due to their unique shapes. These glaciers, including Jakobshavn Isbræ and Rink Isbræ, are at risk of significant ice mass loss and contribute to future sea-level rise.
A NASA-funded study has identified four glaciers in West Greenland that are most susceptible to thinning due to their shape. These glaciers, including Rink Isbrae and Jakobshavn Isbrae, have already been losing mass and are expected to contribute significantly to future sea level rise.
A University of Bristol team found that microbes on glacier surfaces produce significant amounts of bioreactive carbon, which is then released in streams and can stimulate other microbes in downstream ecosystems. The study suggests that active microbial processes during the melt season are crucial for this process.
The study reveals that the ice caps around Greenland's edges have lost their capacity to contain and refreeze meltwater, causing massive ice mass loss. The researchers found that the highest ice caps are still relatively healthy, but the 'melting line' is moving towards them, posing a significant problem.
Researchers found that melting on Greenland passed a tipping point 20 years ago, causing the smallest glaciers and ice caps to no longer regrow lost ice. The study suggests that this will raise global sea level by about 1.5 inches by 2100.
A new study by CU Boulder researchers shows the Barnes Ice Cap on Baffin Island will melt in about 300 years due to a rapid warming climate. The ice cap, which is still 500 meters thick, has never been this small in the past 2.5 million years.
Scientists have developed a simple rule to predict when the Earth's climate warms out of an ice age, using astronomical changes in the Earth's orbit around the Sun. The model predicts interglacials occurring roughly every 100,000 years, which explains why we've been in a warm period for the last 11,000 years.
A NASA study reveals that meltwater from the Greenland Ice Sheet can drain through aquifers and fractures in the ice, reaching the ocean. This discovery could significantly impact computer models of sea level rise, providing new insights into the Greenland contribution.
Researchers found that small spikes in ocean temperature, rather than atmospheric warming, likely drove the rapid disintegration of ancient ice sheets. The study's findings add to evidence that climate change may bring higher seas than predicted by current models.
Two research papers use OMG observations to document how meltwater and ocean currents interact along Greenland's west coast, improving seafloor maps used to predict future melting and sea level rise. The study also reveals the role of meltwater in cooling warmer subsurface water and tracking its impact on glacier melt rates.
A new study in Paleoceanography reveals that the last time Earth was as warm as it is today, a melting Greenland Ice Sheet circulated cold freshwater in the Atlantic Ocean as far south as Bermuda. This circulation elevated sea levels and altered ocean climate and ecosystems.
Researchers at the University of Utah discovered how Arctic melt ponds form by clogging ice pores with freshwater. This process lowers permeability, allowing meltwater to pool on top of the ice, which affects climate modeling and sea ice dynamics.
The Eurasian ice sheet grew from small ice caps to a massive ice mass, nearly three times the size of modern-day Greenland, through a process driven by climate cycles and snowfall. The sheet's growth had a profound impact on regional climates, creating rain-shadow effects and desert conditions in western Russia and Siberia.
Researchers found that Antarctic ocean temperatures became more layered, leading to coastal melting of ice sheets. This stratification is now happening again due to global warming, potentially triggering a three-meter rise in global sea levels.
An international team of scientists reports that Antarctica's climate change could trigger a strong sea level rise, similar to the one that occurred 15,000 years ago. Global warming is causing layering in the ocean, leading to stronger ice sheet melting.
Researchers found the Antarctic Ice Sheet plays a significant role in regional and global climate variability. The ice sheet's dynamic behavior over the past 8,000 years has cascading effects on the entire climate system.
Scientists can now map the speed of glaciers and ice sheets globally, tracking unique patterns and identifying areas with rapid change. This near-real-time data enables researchers to understand the impact on sea level and coastal communities.
A study found that the Greenland ice sheet nearly disappeared for extended periods in the last million years, challenging previous assumptions about its stability. The finding implies global warming could tip it into decline rapidly, causing rapid sea-level rise.
A study analyzing marine sediment cores reveals East Greenland's ice sheet underwent deep glacial erosion over the past 7.5 million years, responding to global climate change. This finding challenges previous theories on complete and extended deglaciation, suggesting a more complex history of ice sheet dynamics.
Two studies published in Nature offer new perspectives on the past behavior of Greenland's ice sheet, with one suggesting continuous presence for seven million years while another proposes it was nearly ice-free for at least 280,000 years. The findings highlight the complexity and dynamic nature of the ice sheet.
Research on Greenland's glaciers reveals that cryoconite granules, formed by cold-loving microbes and mineral particles, accelerate melting. The study found a correlation between fine mineral particle concentrations and cryoconite granule presence.
Experts from Cardiff University propose that deep ocean storage of carbon dioxide may be responsible for the planet's 100,000-year ice age cycle. By analyzing tiny fossil remains, researchers found more CO2 stored in the oceans during ice ages at regular intervals every 100,000 years.
A new study reveals that Greenland's ice sheet lost nearly 2,700 gigatons of ice from 2003-2013, 7.6% more than previously thought, due to mantle softening caused by the Iceland hotspot. This correction refines understanding of modern ice loss patterns and their evolution.
Researchers have discovered chemical traces of sea ice in Greenland ice cores, allowing them to calculate past sea ice levels. The data suggests that the Arctic climate was 2-3 degrees warmer 8000 years ago, with less summertime sea ice than today.
Operation IceBridge is studying the effect of summer melt on Greenland's largest and fastest-melting glacier, Helheim Glacier. The team is observing changes in ice elevation between spring and late summer to understand the cumulative response to melting.
Scientists have created an interactive game, 'Ice Flows', to demonstrate the Antarctic Ice Sheet's response to climate change. The game allows players to control ice flow and observe its effects on penguins and seals.
Researchers studied West Antarctica's landscape and found the ice sheet thinned relatively quickly after a period of warming, losing 400m of thickness in 3,000 years. This caused sea levels to increase by up to two metres.
Researchers used ancient DNA to investigate the ecosystem of an ice-free corridor, concluding that it was biologically unviable until around 12,600 years ago. This challenges the established theory on human migration to America, suggesting that early inhabitants likely took a different route.
A new study finds that climate change could remobilize abandoned hazardous waste from a US military base in Greenland, potentially disrupting nearby ecosystems. The camp's infrastructure and waste are estimated to contain toxic pollutants like PCBs and radioactive coolant.
A US military base in Greenland, built during the Cold War, could re-release frozen hazardous waste into the environment as its ice cover melts. The site, known as Camp Century, contains an estimated 200,000 liters of diesel fuel and toxic pollutants like PCBs.
Climate change is threatening to expose the hazardous waste from an abandoned US military base in Greenland's ice sheet, posing a significant environmental hazard. The site contains toxic pollutants and radioactive waste that could disrupt marine ecosystems if the ice melts.
Researchers found a negative correlation between rainfall in north-western Africa and Europe 10,000 years ago, reversing in the early Holocene period. Climate simulations suggest the North American ice sheet's melting affected atmospheric circulation patterns and ocean currents, leading to the change in correlation.
Scientists have discovered former subglacial lakes in Alberta, Canada, providing insights into lake formation and drainage beneath the ice sheets. The findings offer key constraints for modeling similar lake drainages beneath Antarctica and Greenland, crucial for understanding their impact on ice flow.
A new study reveals a link between melting Greenland ice and faster Arctic warming, with significant implications for sea level rise and ocean circulation. The research found that a unique atmospheric pattern led to record-breaking melt in northern Greenland during the summer of 2015.
Scientists have dated the opening of an ice-free corridor in the Rocky Mountains, which allowed for later human and animal migrations between North America's far north and rest. The research used bison fossils to track the movement of animals into the corridor, showing it was open by around 13,000 years ago.
Operation IceBridge completed its eighth spring Arctic campaign, collecting data on key portions of the Greenland Ice Sheet and Arctic sea ice. The mission focused on measuring changes in sea ice extent, thickness, and elevation, with implications for predicting melt season patterns.
A new study on Antarctica's snow core suggests that warmer temperatures and snowfall are not always linked, contradicting previous projections. Researchers found that individual snow years can have varying relationships with temperature, highlighting the importance of wind patterns in shaping Antarctic weather.
Researchers have found direct evidence of past changes in the Totten Glacier's glacial history, revealing unstable zones prone to rapid collapse. This study sheds light on the region's vulnerabilities and warns of potential catastrophic consequences for sea level rise.
Researchers found that methane release from the ocean floor followed ice sheet retreats, but the process occurred over a prolonged period. The study used radiometric dating to determine the timing of the releases, which were too slow to impact atmospheric methane concentrations.
Researchers developed a new technique using ocean waves and seismic vibrations to monitor ice sheet volume changes, which may help scientists identify vulnerable regions. The technique has been shown to have high precision and can be used continuously, unlike traditional methods that only gather data several times a year.
Scientists discover that temperature inversions and low-level atmospheric phenomena isolate the ice surface from the atmosphere, recycling water vapor and halting loss or gain of ice. This process, known as boundary-layer recycling, occurs in the center of Greenland's ice sheet and is surprisingly efficient.
Researchers discovered an insulating layer of air that forms near the surface during winter, reducing evaporation and precipitation on the ice sheet. This phenomenon explains why temperature has risen without increased precipitation on the central parts of the Greenland ice sheet.
Researchers discovered a strong thermal 'lid' trapping moisture and returning it to the surface, where it refreezes. However, this lid is becoming leaky due to global temperature increases, potentially destabilizing the snow surface.
Scientists have uncovered a wetland-like environment beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, where Subglacial Lake Whillans is fed by melting ice and small amounts of seawater. The findings provide unique insights into the biogeochemistry and geophysics of subglacial lake systems, which are essential for understanding global sea-level rise.
A team of researchers from the University of Georgia has discovered that most of the freshwater pouring into oceans from melting Greenland ice sheet originates from the east coast. The study found that wind and ocean currents transport meltwater around the southern tip of Greenland, which is then largely deposited into the Labrador Sea.
A study suggests that gas hydrates in sediments slowed down an ice stream in the Barents Sea during the last ice age. The sticky spots under the ice act like hook and loop fasteners, creating friction and lubrication that can stop or slow the flow of the ice stream.
A recent study by University of Montana researcher Jesse Johnson reveals that geothermal heat enhances rapid ice flow and subglacial melting in northern Greenland. The research, published in Nature Geoscience, identifies a west-to-east zone with anomalously high heat that drives widespread melting and rapid ice flow.
Researchers found that meltwater streams on Greenland's ice sheet erode channels at a rate of up to 10 centimeters daily, similar to river erosion patterns. This discovery provides a new tool for studying melt rates and glacial response to climate change.
A study by GFZ researchers reveals that Earth's internal heat is responsible for the rapid flow of Greenland's ice, driven by a geothermal anomaly that originated from the Icelandic mantle plume. The anomaly creates a region with abundant subglacial meltwater, lubricating the base of the ice and making it flow rapidly.
A new study found that exceptionally warm weather episodes, rather than radiant energy, cause significant melting of the Greenland ice sheet. The research revealed that climate models tend to underestimate the impact of these events, which are expected to occur more frequently in the future due to climate change.