Abstract:
The Greenland Ice Sheet is thinning at an accelerating pace and the ice sheet’s contribution to sea-level rise has doubled in less than a decade. New data show rapid and widespread changes in the behaviour of the ice sheet, particularly along the coastal margin. These changes coincide with a decade of sustained Arctic warming of up to 3 °C. Decay of the Greenland Ice Sheet in response to global warming will not only be governed by increased surface melting during longer and warmer summers but also by a speed-up of coastal glaciers that drain the interior ice sheet. A precise estimate of sea-level rise in the twentyfirst century relies on improved theoretical treatment of these glaciers in computer models
Description:
Hambrey, M.J., Christoffersen, Poul, (2006) Is the Greenland Ice Sheet in a state of collapse? Geology Today 22 (3), pp. 98-103