Abstract
The Greenland Ice Sheet is thinning at an accelerating pace and the ice sheet’s
contribution to sea-level rise has doubled in less than a decade. New data show
rapid and widespread changes in the behaviour of the ice sheet, particularly
along the coastal margin. These changes coincide with a decade of sustained
Arctic warming of up to 3 °C. Decay of the Greenland Ice Sheet in response to
global warming will not only be governed by increased surface melting during
longer and warmer summers but also by a speed-up of coastal glaciers that
drain the interior ice sheet. A precise estimate of sea-level rise in the twentyfirst
century relies on improved theoretical treatment of these glaciers in computer models
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 98-103 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Geology Today |
Volume | 22 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - May 2006 |