Changes in the Marine-terminating Glaciers of Central East Greenland, 2000-2010, and Potential Connections to Ocean Circulation

Download or read book Changes in the Marine-terminating Glaciers of Central East Greenland, 2000-2010, and Potential Connections to Ocean Circulation written by Kaitlin M. Walsh and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: Outlet glaciers and ice caps on the periphery of the Greenland Ice Sheet have been observed to be extremely sensitive to climate. The limited studies conducted on the marine-terminating glaciers of eastern Greenland's Geikie Plateau and Blosseville Coast suggest exceptionally rapid rates of mass loss and short-term variability in ice dynamics. This study is targeted at a region of central east Greenland for which GRACE mass-anomaly observations show substantial recent mass-loss since its launch in March 2002. Additionally, glaciers in this region terminate into Denmark Straight, which is a thermodynamic transition zone between the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans. Extensive glacial change has been more pronounced through the Denmark Straight and south of the straight, which supports the hypothesis that ocean dynamics, specifically the Irminger Current and East Greenland Current, are supporting increased melt at the ice-ocean interface. It is possible that an appreciable amount of melt and ice loss south of Kangerdlugssuaq is occurring as a result of warmer subpolar water flowing into glacial fjords. We present changes to 38 marine-terminating glaciers as observed using Landsat-7 ETM+ imagery to develop a time series of changing front positions and flow speeds of these glaciers from 2000 to 2010. ASTER DEMs were used to quantify elevation change and thinning. Additionally, we examine sea surface temperatures at five sites along the east Greenland coast to identify possible correlations between warming of the sea surface and increased melt at the glacier termini.