Ice Disintegration: Images and Causes
A pocket of relentless open water, or polynya, had formed within the fjords sea ice near the front of the glaciers. By July 25 (lower), the sea ice had actually broken out.
” The most likely reason for the fast disintegration is probably a wind-driven result when the sea ice was weak and currently warm,” stated Christopher Shuman, a University of Maryland, Baltimore County, glaciologist based at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center. “Think of it like a wet paper towel being pulled apart as the winds blew throughout the area.”
Detail view, July 21, 2023.
Effect of Warmth
Some of the warmth likely came from Randsøen Lake at the edge of the glacier junction, noticeable towards the left side of the image above. Streams atop the glaciers then bring the dark, sediment-laden water into the fjord, where the water continues to absorb more heat.
Glaciers Unique Environment
Aside from seasonally warm areas, the ocean water near Storstrømmen and L. Bistrup Bræ is rather cold. Research study has actually shown that the shallow shape of the seafloor prevents warm Atlantic water from accessing these glaciers and melting them from below– a typical phenomenon in other places around Greenland.
Historical Changes
However, retreat has actually been noted at the glaciers grounding zones– the region where glacial ice resting on the bedrock begins to float– given that the mid-1990s. And the total current retreat of the glacier fronts is likely associated to thinning of the glaciers via long-lasting processes such as surface melting, and their modification to the fast advance of Storstrømmen in between 1978 and 1984.
NASA Earth Observatory images by Wanmei Liang, utilizing Landsat information from the U.S. Geological Survey.
The 2 glaciers– Storstrømmen and L. Bistrup Bræ– are visible in this pair of images. A pocket of persistent open water, or polynya, had formed within the fjords sea ice near the front of the glaciers. Some of the warmth likely came from Randsøen Lake at the edge of the glacier junction, noticeable towards the left side of the image above. This persistent lake gathers summer meltwater from the margins of both glaciers. Streams atop the glaciers then bring the dark, sediment-laden water into the fjord, where the water continues to absorb more heat.
Satellite picture of the Storstrømmen and L. Bistrup Bræ glaciers obtained on July 21, 2023, by the Operational Land Imager-2 (OLI-2) on Landsat 9.
Satellite picture of the Storstrømmen and L. Bistrup Bræ glaciers gotten on July 25, 2023, by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8.
Seasonal heat caused the quick disintegration of sea ice near the junction of two big outlet glaciers.
Summer season can be extreme in the worlds remaining ice. In simply a few days throughout July 2023, the seasonal heat resulted in the quick disintegration of sea ice near the junction of 2 large outlet glaciers in northeast Greenland.
The two glaciers– Storstrømmen and L. Bistrup Bræ– show up in this pair of images. Storstrømmen, the larger of the two, determines around 20 kilometers (12 miles) large and flows southward. It joins with L. Bistrup Bræ, and together their ice extends into fjord waters, forming the southernmost floating ice tongue in East Greenland.
