Greenland Ice Sheet Watch
This Page Is Still Under Construction
Introduction
Greenland is melting faster than previously thought and the outflow from its glaciers is adding more to sea levels every year. If this outflow suddenly increases how are we going to know?
Unfiortunately there is no means for measuring the actual outflow; there are no meters like those on the electric, water, and natural gas connections to your home; and the best that scientists can do is make estimates and predictions based upon previous models. We have to rely upon other methods to provide us with the early warning signs we need. This page will discuss these other methods and use them to document the changes in the Greenland Ice Sheet.
The Maximum Summer Melt
Each summer Greenland heats up until it reaches its maximum air temperature, which causes the ice sheet to melt, producing meltlakes and that raging river of meltwater on June’s Cover of National Geographic. Both the areas which have been melting and the number of days the ice sheet has experienced melting have been growing. Monitoring these changes and their rate of increase may provide us with one of the earliest signs of rapid change. A more rapid increase in the size of these areas and/or a more rapid increase in the number of days of melt should translate to a greater increase in the glacier outflows.
Ice Melt Coverage - One of two variables which determine the amount of water which is added to glacial outflow. Here are the latest figures:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/vanishing/
The 2005 melt set some new records, after two off years in 2003 and 2004, with: the largest melt area recorded on the ice sheet surpassing the previous record in 2002; and a record for total melt was observed for the north-west of the Greenland ice sheet in the Thule region for 2005.
Summary of the melt extent and total melt for the entire Greenland ice Sheet and for the north-western part (Thule) and the western part (Jakobshavn region) [ PDF ]
Days of Melting - In April, the European Geosciences Union (EGU), released this map showing the number of days of melting.
Reported April 18, 2007, by Marco Tedesco of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Indicating that 2006 was the fifth hottest year on record. It states that “both melt extent and duration in Greenland have been increasing since 1979″.
Web Cams In Greenland
Get the latest pictures live from Greenland
NOAA/PMEL’s North Pole web cam deployments began in April 2002. The web cams operate during the Summer warmth and daylight (April - October) and are redeployed each Spring. The images from the cameras track the North Pole snow cover, weather conditions and the status of PMEL’s North Pole instrumentation, which includes meteorological and ice sensors (seen in the camera images). The instruments typically contine to transmit data for months after the solar-powered web cams stop. The North Pole Web Cam team includes Bill Parker, Sigrid Salo, Tracey Nakamura, Nancy Soreide and Jim Overland.
Web Camera provided by Star Dot Technologies with technical support by Vance Kozik. System design by Oceantronics. Camera images are relayed via the Iridium satellite system. Images by NOAA/PMEL. If you wish to use these photographs, please contact arctic.webmaster@noaa.gov
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The North Pole Web Cam is part of the North Pole Environmental Observatory, a joint National Science Foundation-sponsored effort by the Polar Science Center, / APL / UW, the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory / NOAA, the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center, Oregon State University, and Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory. |  |
Warming Oceans
Marine Ecosystems
As the oceans warm the ecosystems they support change. Greenland has experienced one of these changes in the 1980 when warmer water crusteacens like shrimp migrated into the area and they have replaced Cod, a cold water habitat fish, as Greenland’s prinicpal catch.
Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.
These migrations indicate warmer temperatures off the coasts of Greenland, which could accelerate the melting under the glaciers and increase their flow rates. Any rapid growth in the size of catchs and reports of sightings of more tropical varieties of marine life would be early signs of increased ocean temperatures.
Ice Quakes
Recent studies indicate that low intensity earthquakes, called Ice Quakes, have been increasing in number, especially during warmer months.
The glacial earthquakes (blue) are from Greenland only, while the non glacial earthquakes (grey) are from all areas north of 45º.
Glaciers are like earth’s tectonic plates, they do not move smoothly, but instead catch and bind until they suddenly slip. Given this striking similarity between Glacier movement and plate tectonics, it should be possible to forecast future increases in glacier movement (the key to predicting outflow) based upon the size, duration, and frequency of these quakes in key areas. For example: a series of quakes “upriver” should cause quakes “downriver”, a high intensity quake should put more pressure on the downriver area causing it to experience more severe quakes also, and severe quakes should cause noticable increases in the speed of glacial flows. This relatively new facet to the study of Greenland’s Ice Sheet may provide us with the most accurate tool for predicting increased outflow.
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