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North Atlantic warming and the retreat of Greenland's outlet glaciers

Author

Listed:
  • Fiammetta Straneo

    (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

  • Patrick Heimbach

    (Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Abstract

Mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet quadrupled over the past two decades, contributing a quarter of the observed global sea-level rise. Increased submarine melting is thought to have triggered the retreat of Greenland's outlet glaciers, which is partly responsible for the ice loss. However, the chain of events and physical processes remain elusive. Recent evidence suggests that an anomalous inflow of subtropical waters driven by atmospheric changes, multidecadal natural ocean variability and a long-term increase in the North Atlantic's upper ocean heat content since the 1950s all contributed to a warming of the subpolar North Atlantic. This led, in conjunction with increased runoff, to enhanced submarine glacier melting. Future climate projections raise the potential for continued increases in warming and ice-mass loss, with implications for sea level and climate.

Suggested Citation

  • Fiammetta Straneo & Patrick Heimbach, 2013. "North Atlantic warming and the retreat of Greenland's outlet glaciers," Nature, Nature, vol. 504(7478), pages 36-43, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:504:y:2013:i:7478:d:10.1038_nature12854
    DOI: 10.1038/nature12854
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    Cited by:

    1. T. R. Chudley & I. M. Howat & M. D. King & A. Negrete, 2023. "Atlantic water intrusion triggers rapid retreat and regime change at previously stable Greenland glacier," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    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. Shenghang Wang & Shen Tan & Jiaming Xu, 2023. "Evaluation and Implication of the Policies towards China’s Carbon Neutrality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-15, April.
    4. Caroline V. B. Gjelstrup & Mikael K. Sejr & Laura Steur & Jørgen Schou Christiansen & Mats A. Granskog & Boris P. Koch & Eva Friis Møller & Mie H. S. Winding & Colin A. Stedmon, 2022. "Vertical redistribution of principle water masses on the Northeast Greenland Shelf," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
    5. Lars Max & Dirk Nürnberg & Cristiano M. Chiessi & Marlene M. Lenz & Stefan Mulitza, 2022. "Subsurface ocean warming preceded Heinrich Events," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-8, December.
    6. Joanna Beata Kowalska & Paweł Nicia & Michał Gąsiorek & Paweł Zadrożny & Michał Hubert Węgrzyn & Jarosław Waroszewski, 2022. "Are Natural or Anthropogenic Factors Influencing Potentially Toxic Elements’ Enrichment in Soils in Proglacial Zones? An Example from Kaffiøyra (Oscar II Land, Spitsbergen)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-20, October.

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