From AARHUS UNIVERSITY and the obvious science with one datapoint department
The melting ice makes the sea around Greenland less saline
For the first time, ocean data from Northeast Greenland reveals the long-term impact of the melting of the Greenland ice sheet.
For the first time, ocean data from Northeast Greenland reveals the long-term impact of the melting of the Greenland ice sheet. The observed increase in freshwater content will affect the conditions in all Greenland fjords and may ultimately affect the global ocean currents that keep Europe warm.
Today, researchers from Aarhus University in Denmark present a 13-year long time series of data in the esteemed journal Nature, Scientific Reports, which shows how the melting ice affects coastal waters in Northeast Greenland.
Over the years, the dramatic meltdown of ice in the Arctic Ocean has received great attention and is easy to observe via satellite images. Also, glaciers have been observed to melt and retreat and the researchers know that today’s meltdown of the Greenland ice sheet has more than doubled compared with the period 1983-2003. How the increased influx of fresh water will affect the marine environment is, however, largely unknown.
Now, unique annual measurements made within the framework of the ‘Greenland Ecosystem Monitoring Program’ since 2003 in Northeast Greenland tell a clear tale – fresh water from the ice sheet accumulates in the surface layers of the surrounding sea and flows into the Greenland fjords.
The measurements were made in Young Sound and in the sea outside Young Sound. Here, the long time series shows that the surface water layers became up to 1.5 per mill less saline during the measurement period. The is equivalent to an increase in freshwate [sic] content from approximately 1 m in 2003 to almost 4 m in 2015!
Part of the fresh water likely originates from melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet north of the Young Sound and is transported with the East Greenland ocean current along the eastern coast of Greenland.
From the ocean, the fresh water flows into the Greenland fjords where is influence local circulation with impacts on the production and ecosystem structure. More fresh water in the surface water layers makes it harder for the nutrient-rich bottom water to rise to the upper layers where the sunlight ensures the production of plankton algae in summer.
Plankton algae form the basis for all life in the sea and a lower production of algae will result in a lower production of fish. Today, fishing constitutes approx. 88% of Greenland’s exports.
Melting of the ice sheet in Northeast Greenland is significantly lower than in southern and western Greenland, and the researchers warn that the effects may be far more dramatic in other parts of the Greenland coastal waters than in Young Sound.
At a global scale, the increased melting of the ice sheet contributes to rising sea level and may impact global ocean circulation patterns through the so-called ‘thermohaline circulation’ that sustains among others, the Gulf Stream, which keeps Europe warm.
###
The article “Evidence of local and regional freshering of Northeast Greenland coastal waters” is published in Nature, Scientific Reports on Friday, 13 October.
This is a useful piece of work and it seems unhelpful to simply mock it.
The amount of fresh water runoff has roughly quadrupled in the 13 year period of the study, that is interesting, especially as the entire period was within the pause of global temperature increases.
Something is changing, which deserves continued observation at least.
Any apocalypse claims based on +/- 0.0 merit ridicule de facto. And the latest is no exception. Based on Danish Meteorological institute, the Greenland glaciers are increasing again.
A bit like what’s NASA reports for Antarctica
https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/antarctic-sea-ice-reaches-new-record-maximum
The only thing missing currently is Dr Chicken Little catching on. Not worth losing good night sleep this time either.
“… the Greenland glaciers are increasing again.”
You do know that in a warming scenario, then there will be more WV available for snowfall (over a sufficently cold/high region)?
Thanks for confirming.
Also from that same website …
https://www.dmi.dk/en/groenland/maalinger/greenland-ice-sheet-surface-mass-budget/
“Over the year, it snows more than it melts, but calving of icebergs also adds to the total mass budget of the ice sheet. Satellite observations over the last decade show that the ice sheet is not in balance. The calving loss is greater than the gain from surface mass balance, and Greenland is losing mass at about 200 Gt/yr.”
Toneb
No, not true. Glacier calving mass can only occur when the glaciers end at the sea, or discharge onto a downward slope that itself opens into the sea. Greenland is a very large island (2.04 MKm^2) and spans many degrees of latitude (60 North to 82 North) but ONLY the very narrow 10-30 km wide coastal band of mountains face the sea. ONLY that little band around the outside of Greenland spawns mountain-top glaciers that “might” (if they grow long enough to hit the sea) “might” break off and calve icebergs. The entire inland area of Greenland BETWEEN the coastal mountains covered by a ever-growing TRAPPED icecap of 85 – 92% of Greenland’s area. That icecap CANNOT calve icebergs – the icecap stops at the mountain peaks. Now, at the center of the icecap, the total elevation is much higher than the mountains around the caost, and you might be led to believe that this means the ice will flow over the mountains and continue to the sea. But the slope of the icecap is too shallow for that to happen: 1000 meters difference in height over 700 kilometers? No, that ice don’t flow.
Toneb~ glaciers have been calving for a billion years. What exactly is your point?
I found the last 3 paragraphs contained in the link from NASA most interesting, especially that about “consensus”….. Apparently the science isn’t quite settled. We’ll need more money.
Pesky variables.
Tonyb is referring to the grace studies, which measure do not measure ice.
“Toneb~ glaciers have been calving for a billion years. What exactly is your point?”
My point is exactly as stated by bmi …
“The calving loss is greater than the gain from surface mass balance, and Greenland is losing mass at about 200 Gt/yr.
And, again, as stated, that snow mass should increase, commensurate with a warming world.
And that the post I replied to
a) did not give the whole story.
b) is as expected.
And for the benefit of RACook
Calving means into the sea.
Interesting, not sure how useful this work really is. Better that the money be spent understanding cod recruitment fluctuations which would be of greater benefit to the Greenland people since their primary industry if fishing. I don’t believe anyone would argue that the climate isn’t changing, it always has, and always will. Like scientific consensus, stable climate is an oxymoron. My personal view is we have been warming since the last glaciation, a little more during the Roman era and then again during the Medieval Warming Period (also the Viking age) and a cooler during the Little Ice Age. Since the end of the LIA, which coincides with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, we have gone back to the same rate of warming on average. Glaciers advance and retreat and can do so rapidly. Ever read about the Ice Man, how he died and how he was found?
A few data points from a short period of time CANNOT reveal the long term impact of anything – unless you are conducting an experiment with one single things that change and all other changes absolutely controlled/prevented.
No argument or claims of apocalypse, simply a finding of a provocative trend, which deserves further study imho. We should remain curious about changes in our world, it can be useful sometimes.
The Greenland melt pulse is the part of the AMO that comes just before the cooling phase.
1 Gulf stream carries extra-saline water to far North Atlantic
2 Extra-saline water in far North Atlantic is cooled, becomes extra dense and downwells to the bottom.
3 Cold bottom water flows south, impelling more Gulf stream – strengthening the Gulf Stream by positive feedback.
4 Strong Gulf stream warms NH climate and the water around Greenland causing ice melt
5. Greenland freshwater pulse from ice melt interrupts far North Atlantic cold downwelling
6. With deep water formation reduced, Gulf stream weakens
7. Weakened Gulf stream causes NH cooling and reverses Greenland melt into ice gain, meltwater dissipates. So the gulf stream strengthens again.
Back to 1 …