29 research outputs found
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North and northeast Greenland ice discharge from satellite radar interferometry
Ice discharge from north and northeast Greenland calculated from satellite radar interferometry data of 14 outlet glaciers is 3.5 times that estimated from iceberg production. The satellite estimates, obtained at the grounding line of the outlet glaciers, differ from those obtained at the glacier front, because basal melting is extensive at the underside of the floating glacier sections. The results suggest that the north and northeast parts of the Greenland ice sheet may be thinning and contributing positively to sea-level rise
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Rapid ice discharge from southeast Greenland glaciers
Interferometric synthetic-aperture radar (InSAR) observations of southeast Greenland glaciers acquired by the Earth Remote Sensing Satellites (ERS-1/2) in 1996 were combined with ice sounding radar data collected in the late 1990s to estimate a total discharge of 46 ± 3 km3 ice per year between 62°N and 66°N, which is significantly lower than a mass input of 29 ± 3 km3 ice per year calculated from a recent compilation of snow accumulation data. Further north, Helheim Glacier discharges 23 ± 1 km3/yr vs 30 ± 3 km3/yr accumulation; Kangerdlugssuaq Glacier discharges 29 ± 2 km3/yr vs 23 ± km3/yr; and Daugaard-Jensen Glacier discharges 10.5 ± 0.6 km3/yr vs 10.5 ± 1 km3/yr. The mass balance of east Greenland glaciers is therefore dominated by the negative mass balance of southeast Greenland glaciers (- 17 ± 4 km3/yr), equivalent to a sea level rise of 0.04 ± 0.01 mm/yr. Warmer and drier conditions cannot explain the imbalance which we attribute to longterm changes in ice dynamics. Copyright 2004 by the American Geophysical Union
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Substantial thinning of a major east Greenland outlet glacier
Aircraft laser-altimeter surveys in 1993 and 1998 over Kangerdlugssuaq Glacier in east Greenland reveal thinning, over the 5-year interim, of several meters for all surveyed areas within 70 km of the seaward ice front, rising to 50 meters in the final 5 km. Such rapid thinning is best explained by increased discharge velocities and associated creep thinning, most probably caused by enhanced lubrication of the glacier bed. The calving ice front over the past decade has occupied approximately the same location as in 1966. Velocity estimates for 1995/96 are about the same as those for 1966 and 1988, but significantly less than for 1999, suggesting that major thinning began after 1995