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Changes in Greenland’s peripheral glaciers linked to the North Atlantic Oscillation

Nature Climate Change volume 8, pages 48–52 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

Glaciers and ice caps peripheral to the main Greenland Ice Sheet contribute markedly to sea-level rise1,2,3. Their changes and variability, however, have been difficult to quantify on multi-decadal timescales due to an absence of long-term data4. Here, using historical aerial surveys, expedition photographs, spy satellite imagery and new remote-sensing products, we map glacier length fluctuations of approximately 350 peripheral glaciers and ice caps in East and West Greenland since 1890. Peripheral glaciers are found to have recently undergone a widespread and significant retreat at rates of 12.2 m per year and 16.6 m per year in East and West Greenland, respectively; these changes are exceeded in severity only by the early twentieth century post-Little-Ice-Age retreat. Regional changes in ice volume, as reflected by glacier length, are further shown to be related to changes in precipitation associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), with a distinct east–west asymmetry; positive phases of the NAO increase accumulation, and thereby glacier growth, in the eastern periphery, whereas opposite effects are observed in the western periphery. Thus, with projected trends towards positive NAO in the future5,6, eastern peripheral glaciers may remain relatively stable, while western peripheral glaciers will continue to diminish.

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Fig. 1: PGICs in Greenland and current GrIS mass loss.
Fig. 2: Comparison of glacier retreat with changes in climate and atmospheric circulation.
Fig. 3: NAO circulation patterns and associated accumulation anomalies.

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Acknowledgements

A.A.B. was supported by the Independent Research Fund Denmark (grant DFF-610800469) and VILLUM Foundation (grant 10100), and by the Inge Lehmann Scholarship from the Royal Danish Academy of Science and Letters. K.K.K was supported by Independent Research Fund Denmark (grant DFF-4090-00151).C.S.A. and  N.K.L. acknowledge support from the VILLUM Foundation (grant no. 10100 and grant no. VRK023440). We are also grateful for the support from the former National Danish Survey and Cadastre, now Department of Data-supply and Efficiency, and the Norwegian Polar Institute without whose help this study could not have been realized.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    A. A. Bjørk, S. Aagaard, A. Lütt, K. K. Kjeldsen, N. K. Larsen & K. H. Kjær

  2. Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA

    A. A. Bjørk & Y. Peings

  3. NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, Pasadena, CA, USA

    A. A. Bjørk

  4. DTU Space, National Space Institute, Department of Geodesy, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark

    S. A. Khan & K. K. Kjeldsen

  5. Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Copenhagen, Denmark

    J. E. Box, W. T. Colgan & C. S. Andresen

  6. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    K. K. Kjeldsen

  7. Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    N. K. Larsen

  8. Nordic Volcanological Center, Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland

    N. J. Korsgaard

  9. Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI), Copenhagen, Denmark

    J. Cappelen

  10. Department of Earth and Space Science & Engineering, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada

    W. T. Colgan

  11. Department of Geography, University of Zurich (UZH), Zurich, Switzerland

    H. Machguth

  12. Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland

    H. Machguth

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  1. A. A. Bjørk
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Contributions

A.A.B. and K.H.K. designed the study. S.A., A.L. and A.A.B. performed the analysis of aerial photographs and satellite imagery. J.E.B., W.T.C. and K.K.K. created and analysed accumulation and temperature records. S.A.K., C.S.A., N.K.L., N.J.K., H.M., J.C. and Y.P. supplied the data for analysis in the discussion. All authors contributed to the discussion of the results and the writing of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to A. A. Bjørk.

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Supplementary Tables 1–5, Supplementary Figures 1–15 and Supplementary References

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Bjørk, A.A., Aagaard, S., Lütt, A. et al. Changes in Greenland’s peripheral glaciers linked to the North Atlantic Oscillation. Nature Clim Change 8, 48–52 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-017-0029-1

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