IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/nature/v461y2009i7266d10.1038_nature08471.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Extensive dynamic thinning on the margins of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets

Author

Listed:
  • Hamish D. Pritchard

    (British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK)

  • Robert J. Arthern

    (British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK)

  • David G. Vaughan

    (British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK)

  • Laura A. Edwards

    (School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol)

Abstract

Calculating on thin ice Mass loss from marginal glaciers along the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets is known to be contributing to sea-level rise but the precise magnitude and mechanisms are unclear, making it difficult to predict its potential future contribution to sea level. Surface mass loss is certainly a factor. Ice loss from faster glacier flow — called dynamical thinning — has been more difficult to pin down. High-resolution satellite altimetry measurements now show that dynamical thinning is far more important and extensive than previously thought, especially at ocean margins.

Suggested Citation

  • Hamish D. Pritchard & Robert J. Arthern & David G. Vaughan & Laura A. Edwards, 2009. "Extensive dynamic thinning on the margins of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets," Nature, Nature, vol. 461(7266), pages 971-975, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:461:y:2009:i:7266:d:10.1038_nature08471
    DOI: 10.1038/nature08471
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature08471
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/nature08471?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Anders Levermann & Jonathan Bamber & Sybren Drijfhout & Andrey Ganopolski & Winfried Haeberli & Neil Harris & Matthias Huss & Kirstin Krüger & Timothy Lenton & Ronald Lindsay & Dirk Notz & Peter Wadha, 2012. "Potential climatic transitions with profound impact on Europe," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 110(3), pages 845-878, February.
    2. Henning Åkesson & Mathieu Morlighem & Johan Nilsson & Christian Stranne & Martin Jakobsson, 2022. "Petermann ice shelf may not recover after a future breakup," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    3. Maureen McHenry & Paul Dunlop, 2016. "The subglacial imprint of the last Newfoundland Ice Sheet, Canada," Journal of Maps, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(3), pages 462-483, May.
    4. Caroline Katsman & A. Sterl & J. Beersma & H. Brink & J. Church & W. Hazeleger & R. Kopp & D. Kroon & J. Kwadijk & R. Lammersen & J. Lowe & M. Oppenheimer & H. Plag & J. Ridley & H. Storch & D. Vaugha, 2011. "Exploring high-end scenarios for local sea level rise to develop flood protection strategies for a low-lying delta—the Netherlands as an example," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 109(3), pages 617-645, December.
    5. Thomas Slater & Andrew Shepherd & Malcolm McMillan & Amber Leeson & Lin Gilbert & Alan Muir & Peter Kuipers Munneke & Brice Noël & Xavier Fettweis & Michiel Broeke & Kate Briggs, 2021. "Increased variability in Greenland Ice Sheet runoff from satellite observations," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-9, December.
    6. Benjamin J. Davison & Anna E. Hogg & Richard Rigby & Sanne Veldhuijsen & Jan Melchior Wessem & Michiel R. Broeke & Paul R. Holland & Heather L. Selley & Pierre Dutrieux, 2023. "Sea level rise from West Antarctic mass loss significantly modified by large snowfall anomalies," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, December.
    7. Michela Biasutti & Adam Sobel & Suzana Camargo & Timothy Creyts, 2012. "Projected changes in the physical climate of the Gulf Coast and Caribbean," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 112(3), pages 819-845, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:461:y:2009:i:7266:d:10.1038_nature08471. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.