Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Palaeoclimate science

Pulsating ice sheet

During the last ice age, huge numbers of icebergs were episodically discharged from an ice sheet that covered North America. Numerical modelling suggests that these events resulted from a conceptually simple feedback cycle. See Letter p.332

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Icebergs in West Greenland.

MARTIN LÜTHI

Notes

  1. See all news & views

References

  1. Stocker, T. F et al. (eds) Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Working Group I Contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2013).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Heinrich, H. Quat. Res. 29, 142–152 (1988).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Bassis, J. N., Petersen, S. V. & Cathles, L. M. Nature 542, 332–334 (2017).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Bond, G. et al. Nature 365, 143–147 (1993).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Dansgaard, W. et al. Nature 364, 218–220 (1993).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. MacAyeal, D. R. Palaeoceanography 8, 775–784 (1993).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Hulbe, C. L., MacAyeal, D. R., Denton, G. H., Kleman, J. & Lowell, T. V. Palaeoceanography 19, PA1004 (2004).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Alvarez-Solas, J. et al. Nature Geosci. 3, 122–126 (2010).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Marcott, S. A. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 108, 13415–13419 (2011).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. de Vernal, A., Hillaire-Marcel, C., Turon, J.-L. & Matthiessen, J. Can. J. Earth Sci. 37, 725–750 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Joughin, I., Alley, R. B. & Holland, D. M. Science 338, 1172–1176 (2012).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andreas Vieli.

Related links

Related links

Related links in Nature Research

Climate science: The history of Greenland's ice

Climate science: Ice streams waned as ice sheets shrank

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Vieli, A. Pulsating ice sheet. Nature 542, 298–299 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/542298a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/542298a

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing Anthropocene

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Anthropocene newsletter — what matters in anthropocene research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Anthropocene