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9 April 2020
Greenland Ice Sheet meltwater can flow in winter, too
New findings published in Geophysical Research Letters underscore need for year-round investigations of Arctic hydrology.
1 August 2018
New study reveals details of icy Greenland’s heated geologic past
By mapping the heat escaping from below the Greenland Ice Sheet, scientists have sharpened our understanding of the dynamics that dominate and shape terrestrial planets. Tracking these geodynamics of planets helps scientists understand their evolution. But more immediately, the heat information feeds sea-level-change models on Earth by helping scientists predict the behavior of ice. This is particularly important for the surface of land that, in the case of Greenland, is buried below kilometers of ice and so is hard to get to.
15 March 2018
New study helps explain Greenland glaciers’ varied vulnerability to melting
Using data from NASA missions observing Earth, researchers at the University of California, Irvine have created new maps of the bed topography beneath a score of glaciers in southeast Greenland, thereby gaining a much better understanding of why some are undergoing rapid retreat and others are relatively stable.
17 January 2018
Glacial moulin formation triggered by rapid lake drainage
Scientists are uncovering the mystery of how, where and when important glacial features called moulins form on the Greenland Ice Sheet. Moulins, vertical conduits that penetrate through the half-mile-deep ice, efficiently funnel the majority of summer meltwater from the ice surface to the base of the ice sheet.
15 December 2017
Coastal erosion threatens archaeological sites along Greenland’s fjords
Hundreds of archaeology sites lie along the shores of Greenland’s fjords and coasts, revealing the entirety of the country’s ancestral cultures from as many as four thousand years ago. Coastal erosion, however, may soon drop many of those ancestral links into the ocean.
7 July 2017
Greenland’s summer ocean bloom likely fueled by iron
Iron particles catching a ride on glacial meltwater washed out to sea by drifting currents is likely fueling a recently discovered summer algal bloom off the southern coast of Greenland, a new study finds. Microalgae, also known as phytoplankton, are plant-like, marine microorganisms that form the base of the food web in many parts of the ocean.
25 May 2017
Scientists discover new mode of ice loss in Greenland
A new study finds that during Greenland’s hottest summers on record, 2010 and 2012, the ice in Rink Glacier on the island’s west coast didn’t just melt faster than usual, it slid through the glacier’s interior in a gigantic wave, like a warmed freezer pop sliding out of its plastic casing. The wave persisted for four months, with ice from upstream continuing to move down to replace the missing mass for at least four more months.
26 April 2017
Sea level rising faster now than during 1990s, new study shows
Global mean sea level is rising 25 percent faster now than it did during the late 20th century largely due to increased melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet, a new study shows. Satellites first started measuring sea level rise in 1993. The new study revisits how well these measurements agree with independently observed changes in the various components contributing to sea level rise.
3 August 2016
Researchers make first map of thawed areas under Greenland Ice Sheet
NASA researchers have helped produce the first map showing what parts of the bottom of the massive Greenland Ice Sheet are thawed – key information in better predicting how the ice sheet will react to a warming climate. Knowing whether Greenland’s ice lies on wet, slippery ground or is anchored to dry, frozen bedrock is essential for predicting how this ice will flow in the future, but scientists have very few direct observations of the thermal conditions beneath the ice sheet.
23 May 2016
History of Greenland snowfall hidden in ancient leaf waxes
The history of Greenland’s snowfall is chronicled in an unlikely place: the remains of aquatic plants that died long ago, collecting at the bottom of lakes in horizontal layers that document the passing years. Using this ancient record, scientists are attempting to reconstruct how Arctic precipitation fluctuated over the past several millennia, potentially influencing the size of the Greenland Ice Sheet as the Earth warmed and cooled.
GeoSpace is a blog on Earth and space science, managed by AGU’s Public Information staff. The blog features posts by AGU writers and guest contributors on all sorts of relevant science topics, but with a focus on new research and geo and space sciences-related stories that are currently in the news.