Rapid dynamic activation of a marine-based Arctic ice cap

Malcolm McMillan; Andrew Shepherd; Noel Gourmelen; Amaury Dehecq; Amber Leeson; Andrew Ridout; Thomas Flament; Anna Hogg; Lin Gilbert; Toby Benham; Michiel van den Broeke; Julian A. Dowdeswell; Xavier Fettweis; Brice Noel; Tazio Strozzi

doi:10.1002/2014GL062255

Rapid dynamic activation of a marine-based Arctic ice cap

Malcolm McMillan^*, Andrew Shepherd, Noel Gourmelen, Amaury Dehecq, Amber Leeson, Andrew Ridout, Thomas Flament, Anna Hogg, Lin Gilbert, Toby Benham, Michiel van den Broeke, Julian A. Dowdeswell, Xavier Fettweis, Brice Noel, Tazio Strozzi

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

We use satellite observations to document rapid acceleration and ice loss from a formerly slow-flowing, marine-based sector of Austfonna, the largest ice cap in the Eurasian Arctic. During the past two decades, the sector ice discharge has increased 45-fold, the velocity regime has switched from predominantly slow (10(1)m/yr) to fast (10(3)m/yr) flow, and rates of ice thinning have exceeded 25m/yr. At the time of widespread dynamic activation, parts of the terminus may have been near floatation. Subsequently, the imbalance has propagated 50km inland to within 8km of the ice cap summit. Our observations demonstrate the ability of slow-flowing ice to mobilize and quickly transmit the dynamic imbalance inland; a process that we show has initiated rapid ice loss to the ocean and redistribution of ice mass to locations more susceptible to melt, yet which remains poorly understood.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	8902-8909
Number of pages	8
Journal	Geophysical Research Letters
Volume	41
Issue number	24
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL062255
Publication status	Published - 28 Dec 2014

Funding

This work was supported by the UK Natural Environment Research Council. The satellite altimetry data used in this study are freely available from the European Space Agency (https://earth.esa.int/web/guest/data-access) and the National Snow and Ice Data Centre (http://nsidc.org/data/icesat/). The SAR data are available from the European Space Agency (https://earth.esa.int/web/guest/data-access), the Japanese Space Agency (http://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/ALOS/en/ra/ra4_guide.htm) and the German Aeronautics and Space Research Centre (http://sss.terrasar-x.dlr.de/). Sea ice data are available from the National Snow and Ice Data Centre (http://nsidc.org/data/seaice/). We are grateful to Geir Moholdt for providing a digital elevation model of Austfonna and to the Editor and three anonymous reviewers for their comments.

Keywords

ice cap
mass balance
Austfonna
dynamic instability
altimetry
InSAR
SEA-LEVEL RISE
SURFACE MASS-BALANCE
GLACIER CONTRIBUTIONS
SVALBARD
SHEET
ANTARCTICA
ACCELERATION
21ST-CENTURY
AUSTFONNA
SURGES

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1002/2014GL062255

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title = "Rapid dynamic activation of a marine-based Arctic ice cap",

abstract = "We use satellite observations to document rapid acceleration and ice loss from a formerly slow-flowing, marine-based sector of Austfonna, the largest ice cap in the Eurasian Arctic. During the past two decades, the sector ice discharge has increased 45-fold, the velocity regime has switched from predominantly slow (10(1)m/yr) to fast (10(3)m/yr) flow, and rates of ice thinning have exceeded 25m/yr. At the time of widespread dynamic activation, parts of the terminus may have been near floatation. Subsequently, the imbalance has propagated 50km inland to within 8km of the ice cap summit. Our observations demonstrate the ability of slow-flowing ice to mobilize and quickly transmit the dynamic imbalance inland; a process that we show has initiated rapid ice loss to the ocean and redistribution of ice mass to locations more susceptible to melt, yet which remains poorly understood.",

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author = "Malcolm McMillan and Andrew Shepherd and Noel Gourmelen and Amaury Dehecq and Amber Leeson and Andrew Ridout and Thomas Flament and Anna Hogg and Lin Gilbert and Toby Benham and {van den Broeke}, Michiel and Dowdeswell, {Julian A.} and Xavier Fettweis and Brice Noel and Tazio Strozzi",

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doi = "10.1002/2014GL062255",

language = "English",

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AU - McMillan, Malcolm

AU - Shepherd, Andrew

AU - Gourmelen, Noel

AU - Dehecq, Amaury

AU - Leeson, Amber

AU - Ridout, Andrew

AU - Flament, Thomas

AU - Hogg, Anna

AU - Gilbert, Lin

AU - Benham, Toby

AU - van den Broeke, Michiel

AU - Dowdeswell, Julian A.

AU - Fettweis, Xavier

AU - Noel, Brice

AU - Strozzi, Tazio

PY - 2014/12/28

Y1 - 2014/12/28

N2 - We use satellite observations to document rapid acceleration and ice loss from a formerly slow-flowing, marine-based sector of Austfonna, the largest ice cap in the Eurasian Arctic. During the past two decades, the sector ice discharge has increased 45-fold, the velocity regime has switched from predominantly slow (10(1)m/yr) to fast (10(3)m/yr) flow, and rates of ice thinning have exceeded 25m/yr. At the time of widespread dynamic activation, parts of the terminus may have been near floatation. Subsequently, the imbalance has propagated 50km inland to within 8km of the ice cap summit. Our observations demonstrate the ability of slow-flowing ice to mobilize and quickly transmit the dynamic imbalance inland; a process that we show has initiated rapid ice loss to the ocean and redistribution of ice mass to locations more susceptible to melt, yet which remains poorly understood.

AB - We use satellite observations to document rapid acceleration and ice loss from a formerly slow-flowing, marine-based sector of Austfonna, the largest ice cap in the Eurasian Arctic. During the past two decades, the sector ice discharge has increased 45-fold, the velocity regime has switched from predominantly slow (10(1)m/yr) to fast (10(3)m/yr) flow, and rates of ice thinning have exceeded 25m/yr. At the time of widespread dynamic activation, parts of the terminus may have been near floatation. Subsequently, the imbalance has propagated 50km inland to within 8km of the ice cap summit. Our observations demonstrate the ability of slow-flowing ice to mobilize and quickly transmit the dynamic imbalance inland; a process that we show has initiated rapid ice loss to the ocean and redistribution of ice mass to locations more susceptible to melt, yet which remains poorly understood.

KW - ice cap

KW - mass balance

KW - Austfonna

KW - dynamic instability

KW - altimetry

KW - InSAR

KW - SEA-LEVEL RISE

KW - SURFACE MASS-BALANCE

KW - GLACIER CONTRIBUTIONS

KW - SVALBARD

KW - SHEET

KW - ANTARCTICA

KW - ACCELERATION

KW - 21ST-CENTURY

KW - AUSTFONNA

KW - SURGES

U2 - 10.1002/2014GL062255

DO - 10.1002/2014GL062255

M3 - Article

SN - 0094-8276

VL - 41

SP - 8902

EP - 8909

JO - Geophysical Research Letters

JF - Geophysical Research Letters

IS - 24

ER -

Rapid dynamic activation of a marine-based Arctic ice cap

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

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