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These Greenland glaciers are retreating faster than we thought

These Greenland glaciers are retreating faster than we thought

This is news we would have done just fine without. In fact, according to data from a new ice flow model, some Greenland glaciers are retreating at a faster rate than previously expected. The results were recently published in the scientific journal Geophysical Research Letters.

To reach these conclusions, the researchers developed an innovative criterion based on measurements On site The amount of melt water escaping from the terminal tongue of the Glacier Leconte in Alaska, as well as into the specific physics of Greenland ice fronts and the thermohaline properties of the surrounding waters.

Dissolving under water plays sports

As is often the case The extent of solubility under waterIn other words what happens at the base of the icy tongues based on the water that makes up all the salt of matter. Determining the scale of this process is not an easy task. In fact, this happens out of sight sometimes several hundred meters below the surface of the waves.

For years, people have taken a model of the melt rate of floating glaciers in Antarctica and applied it to vertical ice fronts in Greenland. It was the best thing we could do given the limited views says Kirstin Schulz, co-author of the study. “ If it is true or false, who knows? But there is growing evidence that the conventional approach produces very low melt rates on the vertical fronts of Greenland’s glaciers. “.

Credits: Videography / NASA.

Lack of data for glaciers Greenland would like it Presence of steep and unstable ice fronts which kept the researchers at a distance for reasons of safety of persons and property. In Antarctica, these same fronts remain more stable, which explains why traditional numerical charts are based on data obtained from the circumference of the white continent.

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Retreat of glacier fronts in Greenland

Thanks to field data collected less than 400 meters from the front of the LeConte glacier, an unprecedented proximity, the researchers were able to develop a model specifically tailored to the very specific dynamics of this type of glacier. In fact, no other model can explain the speed with which the front of the glacier in question receded. Compared to numerical simulations, reality has benefitedBounce back about a hundred times faster.

The results also drew attention to the amazing speed with which some ice fronts are retreating under the influence of warming waters. Researchers hope now Incorporate their innovative coefficients into a climate model To find out to what extent the inclusion of this process exacerbates projections of sea level rise for different global warming scenarios.

The results of ocean climate models are very relevant to humanity in terms of predicting trends associated with climate change, so you really want to model them right Reporting by Christine Schultz. ” This is a very important step for improving climate models “.