Melt-induced speed-up of Greenland ice sheet offset by efficient subglacial drainage

Aud Venke Sundal, Andrew Shepherd (), Peter Nienow, Edward Hanna, Steven Palmer and Philippe Huybrechts
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Aud Venke Sundal: School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
Andrew Shepherd: School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
Peter Nienow: School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Drummond Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9XP, UK
Edward Hanna: University of Sheffield, Winter Street, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
Steven Palmer: School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
Philippe Huybrechts: Earth System Sciences & Departement Geografie, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium

Nature, 2011, vol. 469, issue 7331, 521-524

Abstract: Water loss trims speed of moving ice sheet The increased amounts of meltwater generated in warmer years might be expected to act as lubrication between moving glaciers or ice sheets and the bedrock below, thereby increasing the velocity of the moving body of ice. But apparently not — satellite observations of ice velocity in Greenland now provide empirical support for a recent theoretical prediction ( http://go.nature.com/v7WSps ) that the development of efficient subglacial drainage associated with high meltwater input can, in fact, reduce the ice velocity. Data from six major glaciers on the Greenland Ice Sheet show that, although the initial ice speedup was similar in all six years of the study, the glacier experienced a dramatic late summer slow-down during the warm years when more melt water was produced.

Date: 2011
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DOI: 10.1038/nature09740

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