Accelerated volume loss in glacier ablation zones of NE Greenland, Little Ice Age to present

Mountain glaciers at the periphery of the Greenland ice sheet are a crucial freshwater and sediment source to the North Atlantic and strongly impact Arctic terrestrial, fjord, and coastal biogeochemical cycles. In this study we mapped the extent of 1,848 mountain glaciers in NE Greenland at the Little Ice Age. We determined area and volume changes for the time periods Little Ice Age to 1980s and 1980s to 2014 and equilibrium line altitudes. There was at least 172.76 ± 34.55‐km3 volume lost between 1910 and 1980s, that is, a rate of 2.61 ± 0.52 km3/year. Between 1980s and 2014 the volume lost was 90.55 ± 18.11 km3, that is, a rate of 3.22 ± 0.64 km3/year, implying an increase of ~23% in the rate of ice volume loss. Overall, at least ~7% of mass loss from Greenland mountain glaciers and ice caps has come from the NE sector

Accelerated volume loss in glacier ablation zones of NE Greenland, Little Ice Age to present

Mountain glaciers at the periphery of the Greenland ice sheet are a crucial freshwater and sediment source to the North Atlantic and strongly impact Arctic terrestrial, fjord, and coastal biogeochemical cycles. In this study we mapped the extent of 1,848 mountain glaciers in NE Greenland at the Little Ice Age. We determined area and volume changes for the time periods Little Ice Age to 1980s and 1980s to 2014 and equilibrium line altitudes. There was at least 172.76 ± 34.55‐km3 volume lost between 1910 and 1980s, that is, a rate of 2.61 ± 0.52 km3/year. Between 1980s and 2014 the volume lost was 90.55 ± 18.11 km3, that is, a rate of 3.22 ± 0.64 km3/year, implying an increase of ~23% in the rate of ice volume loss. Overall, at least ~7% of mass loss from Greenland mountain glaciers and ice caps has come from the NE sector

The Arctic in the 21st century: changing biogeochemical linkages across a paraglacial landscape of Greenland

The Kangerlussuaq area of southwest Greenland encompasses diverse ecological, geomorphic and climate gradients that function over a range of spatial and temporal scales. Ecosystems range from the microbial communities on the ice sheet, through moisture stressed terrestrial vegetation (and their associated herbivores) to freshwater and oligosaline lakes. These ecosystems are linked by a dynamic glacio-fluvial-aeolian geomorphic system that transports water, geological material, organic carbon and nutrients from the glacier surface to adjacent terrestrial and aquatic systems. This paraglacial system is now subject to substantial change due to rapid regional warming since 2000. Here we describe changes in the eco- and geomorphic systems at a range of timescales, and explore rapid future change in the links that integrate these systems. We highlight the importance of cross-system subsidies at the landscape scale and importantly, how these might change in the near future as the Arctic is expected to continue to warm