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Winter warming in West Antarctica caused by central tropical Pacific warming -
Qinghua Ding, Eric J. Steig, David S. Battisti & Marcel Küttel
doi:10.1038/ngeo1129
The Pacific sector of Antarctica has experienced substantial warming in the past 30 years. Observations of global surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation data show that the warming in continental West Antarctica is linked to sea surface temperature changes in the tropical Pacific Ocean.
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Letters
Ongoing climate change following a complete cessation of carbon dioxide emissions -
Nathan P. Gillett, Vivek K. Arora, Kirsten Zickfeld, Shawn J. Marshall & William J. Merryfield
doi:10.1038/ngeo1047
Following a hypothesized complete cessation of carbon dioxide emissions, global climate models simulate approximately constant global mean temperatures for centuries. Long-term simulations with the Canadian Earth System Model suggest that, on these timescales, regional changes in temperature and precipitation are nevertheless significant, and that Southern Ocean warming at intermediate depths could affect the stability of Antarctic ice.
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Regionally differentiated contribution of mountain glaciers and ice caps to future sea-level rise -
Valentina Radić & Regine Hock
doi:10.1038/ngeo1052
The contribution to sea-level rise from mountain glaciers and ice caps has grown over the past decades. A projection of their melting during the twenty-first century based on temperature and precipitation projections from ten climate models suggests that by 2100 these glaciers will lose about 21% of their total global volume.
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Sea level as a stabilizing factor for marine-ice-sheet grounding lines -
Natalya Gomez, Jerry X. Mitrovica, Peter Huybers & Peter U. Clark
doi:10.1038/ngeo1012
Climate change could potentially destabilize marine ice sheets such as the West Antarctic ice sheet. A suite of predictions of sea-level change following grounding-line migration suggests that the gravitational effects of melting on local sea levels can exert a stabilizing influence on marine ice sheets on a reverse slope.
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Article
Simultaneous estimation of global present-day water transport and glacial isostatic adjustment -
Xiaoping Wu, Michael B. Heflin, Hugo Schotman, Bert L. A. Vermeersen, Danan Dong, Richard S. Gross, Erik R. Ivins, Angelyn W. Moore & Susan E. Owen
doi:10.1038/ngeo938
Present-day changes in the thickness of ice sheets and glacial isostatic adjustment both affect space geodetic measurements. A combination of gravity measurements and geodetic data of surface movement with a data-assimilating model of ocean bottom pressure allows the simultaneous estimation of present-day water transport and glacial isostatic adjustment.
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Letter
Observations beneath Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica and implications for its retreat -
Adrian Jenkins, Pierre Dutrieux, Stanley S. Jacobs, Stephen D. McPhail, James R. Perrett, Andrew T. Webb & David White
doi:10.1038/ngeo890
Thinning ice in West Antarctica is currently contributing about 10% of the observed rise in global sea level. Observations obtained from an autonomous underwater vehicle operating beneath Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica, reveal that the glacier was recently grounded on a transverse ridge in the sea floor, but now warm sea water flows through the widening gap above the ridge.
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Letters
Accelerated Antarctic ice loss from satellite gravity measurements -
J. L. Chen, C. R. Wilson, D. Blankenship & B. D. Tapley
doi:10.1038/ngeo694
Accurate quantification of Antarctic ice-sheet mass balance and its contribution to global sea-level rise remains challenging. Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment data spanning the period April 2002 to January 2009 confirm earlier estimates of ice loss for Antarctica and indicate that East Antarctica started losing mass in about 2006.
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Large-scale changes in Greenland outlet glacier dynamics triggered at the terminus -
Faezeh M. Nick, Andreas Vieli, Ian M. Howat & Ian Joughin
doi:10.1038/ngeo394
The recent, dramatic retreat of many outlet glaciers of the Greenland ice sheet has raised concerns over Greenland's contribution to future sea-level rise. Simulations with a numerical ice-flow model indicate that the recent rates of mass loss in Greenland's outlet glaciers are transient and should not be extrapolated into the future.
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Acceleration of Jakobshavn Isbræ triggered by warm subsurface ocean waters -
David M. Holland, Robert H. Thomas, Brad de Young, Mads H. Ribergaard & Bjarne Lyberth
doi:10.1038/ngeo316
Observations over past decades show 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 thinning in 1997. This switch is associated with a doubling in glacier velocity. Hydrographic data show a concurrent sudden increase in subsurface ocean temperatures along the entire west coast of Greenland, suggesting that the changes in Jakobshavn Isbræ were triggered by the arrival of relatively warm water originating from the Irminger Sea.
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Recent Antarctic ice mass loss from radar interferometry and regional climate modelling -
Eric Rignot, Jonathan L. Bamber, Michiel R. van den Broeke, Curt Davis, Yonghong Li, Willem Jan van de Berg & Erik van Meijgaard
doi:10.1038/ngeo102
Observed estimates of ice losses in Antarctica combined with regional modelling of ice accumulation in the interior suggest that East Antarctica is close to a balanced mass budget, but large losses of ice occur in the narrow outlet channels of West Antarctic glaciers and at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.
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