Sea ice breakup and marine melt of a retreating tidewater outlet glacier in northeast Greenland (81°N).

ABSTRACT: Rising temperatures in the Arctic cause accelerated mass loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet and reduced sea ice cover. Tidewater outlet glaciers represent direct connections between glaciers and the ocean where melt rates at the ice-ocean interface are influenced by ocean temperature and circulation. However, few measurements exist near outlet glaciers from the northern coast towards the Arctic Ocean that has remained nearly permanently ice covered. Here we present hydrographic measurements along the terminus of a major retreating tidewater outlet glacier from Flade Isblink Ice Cap. We show that the region is characterized by a relatively large change of the seasonal freshwater content, corresponding to ~2 m of freshwater, and that solar heating during the short open water period results in

SUBMITTER: Bendtsen J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5503942 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature