Climate Change - Glaciers

This page presents notes on scientific published articles related to Glaciers.

Article: "Timing of Millenial-Scale Climate Change in Antarctica and Greenland During the Last Glacial Period." Presents Greenland and Antarctica chronology of temperature over 90,000 years. Seven major warmings in Antarctica preceded warmings in Greenland by 1500-3000 years. Source: Science, Volume 291, Number 5501. Date: 2001 January 5

Article: "Positive Mass Balance of the Ross Ice Streams, West Antarctica." In contrast to earlier estimates of -20.9 gigatons per year ice-sheet shrinkage, this study reports ice-sheet growth of 26.8 gigatons per year. This may signal an end to the Holocene retreat of ice streams. Source: Science, Volume 295, Number 5554. Date: 2002 January 18

Article: "Early Warming of Tropical South America at the Last Glacial-Interglacial Transition." Deglaciation in tropical Andes led warming at high northern latitudes by over 5000 years. Source: Science, Volume 296, Number 5573. Date: 2002 May 31

Article: "Rapid Bottom Melting Widespread near Antarctic Ice Sheet Grounding Lines." Bottom melt rates of large outlet glaciers from continental Antarctic are far higher than previously assumed. Melting rate positively correlated with thermal forcing, increasing by 1 metre per year for each 0.1 degree Celcius rise in ocean temperature. Source: Science, Volume 296, Number 5575. Date: 2002 June 14

Article: "Surface Melt-Induced Acceleration of Greenland Ice-Sheet Flow." Glacial sliding is enhanced by rapid migration of surface meltwater to the ice-bedrock interface. Surface melting and ice-sheet flow cause rapid, large-scale response to climate warming. Source: Science, Volume 297, Number 5579. Date: 2002 July 12

Article: "Rapid Wastage of Alaska Glaciers and Their Contribution to Rising Sea Level." Average rate of thickness change of Alaska glaciers from mid-1950s to mid-1990s was -0.52 metres per year. Estimated total volume change of Alaska glaciers from 1950s to 1990s is -52 cubic Km per year, contributing 0.14 mm per year to sea level rise. Rate of change from small group of glaciers from mid-1990s to 2001 indicate -1.8 metres epr year average rate of thinning, suggesting 0.27 mm per year rate of sea level rise in past decade from all Alaska glaciers. Source: Science, Volume 297, Number 5580. Date: 2002 July 19

Article: "Near-Synchronous Interhemispheric Termination of the Last Glacial Maximum in Mid-Latitudes." End of last glacial period initiated globally, with onset of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Global summer warming (17,000 to 19,000 years ago) may have destabilized Northern Hemisphere ice sheets, triggering iceberg discharge into North Atlantic. Fresh water input to Atlantic slowed the meridional overturning circulation, giving North Atlantic hypercold winters. Source: Science, Volume 312, Number 5779. Date: 2006 June 9

Article: "Surface and Deep Ocean Interactions During the Cold Climate Event 8200 Years ago." 8490 years ago, freshwater from melting ice of the Laurentide Ice Sheet caused cooling of the North Atlantic, interrupting the meridional overturning circulation, causing cold climate in Europe. Another cooling occurred 8290 years ago. Source: Science, Volume 312, Number 5782. Date: 2006 June 30

Article: "Insignificant Change in Antarctic Snowfall Since the Interglacial Geophysical Year." No statistically significant change in Antarctic snowfall since 1950s. Antarctic snowfall is not currently compensating for melting at ice sheet periphery. Climate models that predict increasing precipitation over Antarctic in conjunction with warming may need revisiting. Source: Science, Volume 313, Number 5788. Date: 2006 August 11

Article: "Acceleration of Greenhouse ice mass loss in spring 2004." From April 2002 to April 2006, Greenland ice mass loss detected as 248 +/- 36 km3/year, equivalent to global sea level rise of 0.4-0.6 mm/year (5 cm in 100 years if constant). Spring 2004 saw a dramatic change in the rate of ice mass loss. Too early to tell if this is a true long-term increase. Source: Nature, Volume 443, Number 7109. Date: 2006 September 21

Article: "Satellite Gravity Measurements Confirm Accelerated melting of Greenland Ice Sheet." Greenland ice melted at about 240 cubic kilometres per year from April 2002 to November 2005. Source: Science, Volume 313, Number 5795. Date: 2006 September 29

Article: "Recent Greenland Ice Mass Loss by Drainage System from Satellite Gravity Observations." From 2003 to 2005, ice sheet lost net 100 gigatons per year. Greenland ice sheet mass loss contributes 0.28 mm/year to global sea level rise, about ten percent of observed total rise. Source: Science, Volume 314, Number 5803. Date: 2006 November 24

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Last updated: 2007 Nov 24.
Global Warming and Climate Change
Copyright (C) 2007 Ken Polsson (email: kpolsson@islandnet.com)
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