Article, 2024
Short- and long-term variability of the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets
Nature Reviews Earth & Environment,
ISSN
2662-138X,
Volume 5,
3,
Pages 193-210,
10.1038/s43017-023-00509-7
Contributors
Hanna, Edward
0000-0002-8683-182X
(Corresponding author)
[1]
Topál, Dániel
0000-0001-9348-4494
[2]
[3]
Box, Jason Eric
0000-0003-0052-8705
[4]
Buzzard, Sammie Claire
0000-0003-0722-2549
[5]
[6]
Christie, Frazer D W
0000-0002-7378-4243
[7]
Hvidberg, Christine Schøtt
0000-0002-9665-1339
[8]
Morlighem, Mathieu M
0000-0001-5219-1310
[9]
De Santis, Laura
0000-0002-7752-7754
[10]
Silvano, Alessandro
0000-0002-6441-1496
[11]
Colleoni, Florence
0000-0003-4582-812X
[10]
Sasgen, Ingo
[12]
[13]
Banwell, Alison F
0000-0001-9545-829X
[14]
Van Den Broeke, Michiel Roland
0000-0003-4662-7565
[15]
Deconto, Robert M
[16]
De Rydt, Jan
0000-0002-2978-8706
[6]
Goelzer, Heiko
0000-0002-5878-9599
[17]
Gossart, Alexandra
0000-0002-1927-2685
[18]
Gudmundsson, Gudmundur Hilmar
0000-0003-4236-5369
[6]
Lindbäck, Katrin
0000-0002-5941-6743
[19]
[20]
Miles, Bertie W J
0000-0002-3388-4688
[21]
Mottram, Ruth H
0000-0002-1016-1997
[22]
Pattyn, Frank
0000-0003-4805-5636
[23]
Reese, Ronja
0000-0001-7625-040X
[6]
Rignot, Eric J
0000-0002-3366-0481
[24]
[25]
Srivastava, Aakriti
0009-0007-3759-9087
[26]
Sun, Sainan
[6]
Toller, Justin
[27]
Tuckett, Peter A
0000-0001-9953-2602
[28]
Ultee, Lizz
0000-0002-8780-3089
[29]
Affiliations
- [1]
University of Lincoln
[NORA names:
United Kingdom; Europe, Non-EU; OECD];
- [2]
Institute for Geological and Geochemical Research
[NORA names:
Hungary; Europe, EU; OECD];
- [3]
Université Catholique de Louvain
[NORA names:
Belgium; Europe, EU; OECD];
- [4]
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland
[NORA names:
GEUS Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland; Governmental Institutions; Denmark; Europe, EU; Nordic; OECD];
- [5]
Cardiff University
[NORA names:
United Kingdom; Europe, Non-EU; OECD];
(... more)
- [6]
Northumbria University
[NORA names:
United Kingdom; Europe, Non-EU; OECD];
- [7]
Airbus (United Kingdom)
[NORA names:
United Kingdom; Europe, Non-EU; OECD];
- [8]
University of Copenhagen
[NORA names:
KU University of Copenhagen;
University; Denmark; Europe, EU; Nordic; OECD];
- [9]
Dartmouth College
[NORA names:
United States; America, North; OECD];
- [10]
Section of Geophysics, National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics, Trieste, Italy
[NORA names:
Italy; Europe, EU; OECD];
- [11]
National Oceanography Centre
[NORA names:
United Kingdom; Europe, Non-EU; OECD];
- [12]
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
[NORA names:
Germany; Europe, EU; OECD];
- [13]
University of Augsburg
[NORA names:
Germany; Europe, EU; OECD];
- [14]
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences
[NORA names:
United States; America, North; OECD];
- [15]
Utrecht University
[NORA names:
Netherlands; Europe, EU; OECD];
- [16]
University of Massachusetts Amherst
[NORA names:
United States; America, North; OECD];
- [17]
Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research
[NORA names:
Norway; Europe, Non-EU; Nordic; OECD];
- [18]
Victoria University of Wellington
[NORA names:
New Zealand; Oceania; OECD];
- [19]
Mid Sweden University
[NORA names:
Sweden; Europe, EU; Nordic; OECD];
- [20]
Norwegian Polar Institute
[NORA names:
Norway; Europe, Non-EU; Nordic; OECD];
- [21]
University of Edinburgh
[NORA names:
United Kingdom; Europe, Non-EU; OECD];
- [22]
Danish Meteorological Institute
[NORA names:
DMI Danish Meteorological Institute;
Governmental Institutions; Denmark; Europe, EU; Nordic; OECD];
- [23]
Université Libre de Bruxelles
[NORA names:
Belgium; Europe, EU; OECD];
- [24]
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
[NORA names:
United States; America, North; OECD];
- [25]
University of California, Irvine
[NORA names:
United States; America, North; OECD];
- [26]
Barkatullah University
[NORA names:
India; Asia, South];
- [27]
University of Nevada Reno
[NORA names:
United States; America, North; OECD];
- [28]
University of Sheffield
[NORA names:
United Kingdom; Europe, Non-EU; OECD];
- [29]
Middlebury College
[NORA names:
United States; America, North; OECD]
(less)
Abstract
Abstract The variability of the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets occurs on various timescales and is important for projections of sea level rise; however, there are substantial uncertainties concerning future ice-sheet mass changes. In this Review, we explore the degree to which short-term fluctuations and extreme glaciological events reflect the ice sheets’ long-term evolution and response to ongoing climate change. Short-term (decadal or shorter) variations in atmospheric or oceanic conditions can trigger amplifying feedbacks that increase the sensitivity of ice sheets to climate change. For example, variability in ocean-induced and atmosphere-induced melting can trigger ice thinning, retreat and/or collapse of ice shelves, grounding-line retreat, and ice flow acceleration. The Antarctic Ice Sheet is especially prone to increased melting and ice sheet collapse from warm ocean currents, which could be accentuated with increased climate variability. In Greenland both high and low melt anomalies have been observed since 2012, highlighting the influence of increased interannual climate variability on extreme glaciological events and ice sheet evolution. Failing to adequately account for such variability can result in biased projections of multi-decadal ice mass loss. Therefore, future research should aim to improve climate and ocean observations and models, and develop sophisticated ice sheet models that are directly constrained by observational records and can capture ice dynamical changes across various timescales.
Keywords
Antarctic,
Antarctic Ice Sheet,
Greenland,
Greenland ice sheet,
acceleration,
anomalies,
changes,
climate,
climate change,
climate variability,
collapse,
collapse of ice shelves,
conditions,
current,
degree,
dynamic changes,
events,
evolution,
feedback,
flow acceleration,
fluctuations,
grounding-line,
grounding-line retreat,
ice,
ice flow acceleration,
ice mass loss,
ice sheet,
ice sheet collapse,
ice sheet evolution,
ice sheet mass change,
ice sheet models,
ice shelves,
ice thinning,
ice-dynamic changes,
improved climate,
increased melting,
increasing climate variability,
influence,
interannual climate variability,
level rise,
long-term evolution,
long-term variability,
loss,
mass changes,
mass loss,
melting,
melting anomaly,
model,
observational record,
observations,
ocean,
ocean conditions,
ocean currents,
ocean observations,
project,
projections of sea level rise,
records,
research,
response,
retreat,
review,
rise,
sea level rise,
sensitivity,
sensitivity of ice sheets,
sheet,
sheet evolution,
sheet model,
shelf,
short-,
short-term,
short-term fluctuations,
thinning,
timescales,
variables,
variation
Funders
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