Accelerating changes in ice mass within Greenland, and the ice sheet's sensitivity to atmospheric forcing

Michael Bevis; Christopher Harig; Shfaqat A. Khan; Abel Brown; Frederik J. Simons; Michael Willis; Xavier Fettweis; Michiel R van den Broeke; Finn Bo Madsen; Eric Kendrick; Dana J Caccamise; Tonie van Dam; Per Knudsen; Thomas Nylen

doi:10.1073/pnas.1806562116

Accelerating changes in ice mass within Greenland, and the ice sheet's sensitivity to atmospheric forcing

Michael Bevis^*, Christopher Harig, Shfaqat A. Khan, Abel Brown, Frederik J. Simons, Michael Willis, Xavier Fettweis, Michiel R van den Broeke, Finn Bo Madsen, Eric Kendrick, Dana J Caccamise, Tonie van Dam, Per Knudsen, Thomas Nylen

^*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

From early 2003 to mid-2013, the total mass of ice in Greenland declined at a progressively increasing rate. In mid-2013, an abrupt reversal occurred, and very little net ice loss occurred in the next 12-18 months. Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and global positioning system (GPS) observations reveal that the spatial patterns of the sustained acceleration and the abrupt deceleration in mass loss are similar. The strongest accelerations tracked the phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The negative phase of the NAO enhances summertime warming and insolation while reducing snowfall, especially in west Greenland, driving surface mass balance (SMB) more negative, as illustrated using the regional climate model MAR. The spatial pattern of accelerating mass changes reflects the geography of NAO-driven shifts in atmospheric forcing and the ice sheet's sensitivity to that forcing. We infer that southwest Greenland will become a major future contributor to sea level rise.

Original language	English
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume	116
Issue number	6
Pages (from-to)	1934-1939
ISSN	0027-8424
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1806562116
Publication status	Published - 2019

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This open access article is distributed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND).

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Bevis, M., Harig, C., Khan, S. A., Brown, A., Simons, F. J., Willis, M., Fettweis, X., van den Broeke, M. R., Madsen, F. B., Kendrick, E., Caccamise, D. J., van Dam, T., Knudsen, P., & Nylen, T. (2019). Accelerating changes in ice mass within Greenland, and the ice sheet's sensitivity to atmospheric forcing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116(6), 1934-1939. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1806562116

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title = "Accelerating changes in ice mass within Greenland, and the ice sheet's sensitivity to atmospheric forcing",

abstract = "From early 2003 to mid-2013, the total mass of ice in Greenland declined at a progressively increasing rate. In mid-2013, an abrupt reversal occurred, and very little net ice loss occurred in the next 12-18 months. Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and global positioning system (GPS) observations reveal that the spatial patterns of the sustained acceleration and the abrupt deceleration in mass loss are similar. The strongest accelerations tracked the phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The negative phase of the NAO enhances summertime warming and insolation while reducing snowfall, especially in west Greenland, driving surface mass balance (SMB) more negative, as illustrated using the regional climate model MAR. The spatial pattern of accelerating mass changes reflects the geography of NAO-driven shifts in atmospheric forcing and the ice sheet's sensitivity to that forcing. We infer that southwest Greenland will become a major future contributor to sea level rise.",

author = "Michael Bevis and Christopher Harig and Khan, {Shfaqat A.} and Abel Brown and Simons, {Frederik J.} and Michael Willis and Xavier Fettweis and {van den Broeke}, {Michiel R} and Madsen, {Finn Bo} and Eric Kendrick and Caccamise, {Dana J} and {van Dam}, Tonie and Per Knudsen and Thomas Nylen",

note = "This open access article is distributed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND).",

year = "2019",

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language = "English",

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Bevis, M, Harig, C, Khan, SA, Brown, A, Simons, FJ, Willis, M, Fettweis, X, van den Broeke, MR, Madsen, FB, Kendrick, E, Caccamise, DJ, van Dam, T, Knudsen, P & Nylen, T 2019, 'Accelerating changes in ice mass within Greenland, and the ice sheet's sensitivity to atmospheric forcing', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 116, no. 6, pp. 1934-1939. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1806562116

Accelerating changes in ice mass within Greenland, and the ice sheet's sensitivity to atmospheric forcing. / Bevis, Michael; Harig, Christopher; Khan, Shfaqat A. et al.
In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 116, No. 6, 2019, p. 1934-1939.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

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T1 - Accelerating changes in ice mass within Greenland, and the ice sheet's sensitivity to atmospheric forcing

AU - Bevis, Michael

AU - Harig, Christopher

AU - Khan, Shfaqat A.

AU - Brown, Abel

AU - Simons, Frederik J.

AU - Willis, Michael

AU - Fettweis, Xavier

AU - van den Broeke, Michiel R

AU - Madsen, Finn Bo

AU - Kendrick, Eric

AU - Caccamise, Dana J

AU - van Dam, Tonie

AU - Knudsen, Per

AU - Nylen, Thomas

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N2 - From early 2003 to mid-2013, the total mass of ice in Greenland declined at a progressively increasing rate. In mid-2013, an abrupt reversal occurred, and very little net ice loss occurred in the next 12-18 months. Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and global positioning system (GPS) observations reveal that the spatial patterns of the sustained acceleration and the abrupt deceleration in mass loss are similar. The strongest accelerations tracked the phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The negative phase of the NAO enhances summertime warming and insolation while reducing snowfall, especially in west Greenland, driving surface mass balance (SMB) more negative, as illustrated using the regional climate model MAR. The spatial pattern of accelerating mass changes reflects the geography of NAO-driven shifts in atmospheric forcing and the ice sheet's sensitivity to that forcing. We infer that southwest Greenland will become a major future contributor to sea level rise.

AB - From early 2003 to mid-2013, the total mass of ice in Greenland declined at a progressively increasing rate. In mid-2013, an abrupt reversal occurred, and very little net ice loss occurred in the next 12-18 months. Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and global positioning system (GPS) observations reveal that the spatial patterns of the sustained acceleration and the abrupt deceleration in mass loss are similar. The strongest accelerations tracked the phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The negative phase of the NAO enhances summertime warming and insolation while reducing snowfall, especially in west Greenland, driving surface mass balance (SMB) more negative, as illustrated using the regional climate model MAR. The spatial pattern of accelerating mass changes reflects the geography of NAO-driven shifts in atmospheric forcing and the ice sheet's sensitivity to that forcing. We infer that southwest Greenland will become a major future contributor to sea level rise.

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DO - 10.1073/pnas.1806562116

M3 - Journal article

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SN - 0027-8424

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SP - 1934

EP - 1939

JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

IS - 6

ER -

Accelerating changes in ice mass within Greenland, and the ice sheet's sensitivity to atmospheric forcing

Abstract

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