Rapid Thinning of Parts of the Southern Greenland Ice Sheet
- 5 March 1999
- journal article
- other
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 283 (5407), 1522-1524
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.283.5407.1522
Abstract
Aircraft laser-altimeter surveys over southern Greenland in 1993 and 1998 show three areas of thickening by more than 10 centimeters per year in the southern part of the region and large areas of thinning, particularly in the east. Above 2000 meters elevation the ice sheet is in balance but thinning predominates at lower elevations, with rates exceeding 1 meter per year on east coast outlet glaciers. These high thinning rates occur at different latitudes and at elevations up to 1500 meters, which suggests that they are caused by increased rates of creep thinning rather than by excessive melting. Taken as a whole, the surveyed region is in negative balance.Keywords
This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit:
- Evaluation of recent precipitation studies for Greenland Ice SheetJournal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 1998
- Elevation Change of the Southern Greenland Ice SheetScience, 1998
- Accuracy of airborne laser altimetry over the Greenland ice sheetInternational Journal of Remote Sensing, 1995
- Thoughts on monitoring the effects of climate change on the surface elevation of the Greenland ice sheetGlobal and Planetary Change, 1994