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Acceleration of Jakobshavn Isbræ triggered by warm subsurface ocean waters

Nature Geoscience volume 1, pages 659–664 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Observations over the past decades show a rapid acceleration of several outlet glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica1. One of the largest changes is a sudden switch of Jakobshavn Isbræ, a large outlet glacier feeding a deep-ocean fjord on Greenland’s west coast, from slow thickening to rapid thinning2 in 1997, associated with a doubling in glacier velocity3. Suggested explanations for the speed-up of Jakobshavn Isbræ include increased lubrication of the ice–bedrock interface as more meltwater has drained to the glacier bed during recent warmer summers4 and weakening and break-up of the floating ice tongue that buttressed the glacier5. Here we present hydrographic data that show a sudden increase in subsurface ocean temperature in 1997 along the entire west coast of Greenland, suggesting that the changes in Jakobshavn Isbræ were instead triggered by the arrival of relatively warm water originating from the Irminger Sea near Iceland. We trace these oceanic changes back to changes in the atmospheric circulation in the North Atlantic region. We conclude that the prediction of future rapid dynamic responses of other outlet glaciers to climate change will require an improved understanding of the effect of changes in regional ocean and atmosphere circulation on the delivery of warm subsurface waters to the periphery of the ice sheets.

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Figure 1: Larger-scale setting and regional-scale bathymetry.
Figure 2: Elevation and velocity changes in Jakobshavn Isbræ.
Figure 3: Oceanographic and meteorological observations near Jakobshavn.
Figure 4: Subsurface ocean temperatures over the west Greenland continental shelf.

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Acknowledgements

This research was primarily supported by a Strategic Grant for Exploratory Research from the Office of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation (ARC-0644156).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. New York University, New York 10012, USA

    David M. Holland

  2. EG&G Services, Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia 23337, USA

    Robert H. Thomas

  3. Memorial University, St. John’s A1B 3X7, Canada

    Brad de Young

  4. Danish Meteorological Institute, Copenhagen DK-2100, Denmark

    Mads H. Ribergaard

  5. Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Nuuk 3900, Greenland

    Bjarne Lyberth

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  1. David M. Holland
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  2. Robert H. Thomas
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  5. Bjarne Lyberth
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Correspondence to David M. Holland.

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Holland, D., Thomas, R., de Young, B. et al. Acceleration of Jakobshavn Isbræ triggered by warm subsurface ocean waters. Nature Geosci 1, 659–664 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo316

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