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Copyright Copernicus GmbH 2013

Abstract

Forty years of satellite imagery reveal that meltwater lakes on the margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet have expanded substantially inland to higher elevations with warming. These lakes are important because they provide a mechanism for bringing water to the ice bed, causing sliding. Inland expansion of lakes could accelerate ice flow by bringing water to previously frozen bed, potentially increasing future rates of mass loss. Increasing lake elevations closely follow the rise of the mass balance equilibrium line over much of the ice sheet, suggesting no physical limit on lake expansion. Data are not yet available to detect a corresponding change in ice flow, and the potential effects of lake expansion on ice sheet dynamics are not included in ice sheet models.

Details

Title
Brief Communication "Expansion of meltwater lakes on the Greenland Ice Sheet"
Author
Howat, I. M.; Peña, S. de la; van Angelen, J. H.; Lenaerts, J. T. M.; Broeke, M. R. van den
First page
201
Publication year
2013
Publication date
2013
Publisher
Copernicus GmbH
ISSN
19940424
e-ISSN
19940416
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
1313517068
Copyright
Copyright Copernicus GmbH 2013