2006Geology TodayRequires access

Is the Greenland Ice Sheet in a state of collapse?

Poul Christoffersen, Michael J. Hambrey

Open publisher page 13 citations

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 twenty‐first century relies on improved theoretical treatment of these glaciers in computer models.

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What this paper is about

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 twenty‐first century relies on improved theoretical treatment of these glaciers in computer models.

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Available 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 twenty‐first century relies on improved theoretical treatment of these glaciers in computer models.

Key concepts: Greenland ice sheet, Ice sheet, Geology, Future sea level, Ice-sheet model, Glacier, Oceanography, Climatology

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