Greenland is dotted with frozen meltwater lakes such as the one above, photographed throughout a NASA exploration in 2012. UCI Earth system scientists led a research study into the function of warm, dry, downslope winds in accelerating thawing of the Greenland ice sheet. As part of the very same project, the researchers discovered a contrasting result at the other end of the world: less wind-driven melting in Antarctica. Credit: NASA Operation IceBridge
Research Study Findings and Sea Level Rise
” We utilized local climate design simulations to study ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, and the outcomes revealed that downslope winds are accountable for a significant amount of surface area melt of the ice sheets in both regions,” stated co-author Charlie Zender, UCI teacher of Earth system science. “Surface melt leads to overflow and ice shelf hydrofracture that increase freshwater circulation to oceans– causing water level increase.”
While the impact of the winds is significant, he stated, the distinct habits of worldwide warming in the Northern and Southern hemispheres are causing contrasting results in the areas.
Greenlands Melting Dynamics
In Greenland, wind-driven surface melt is compounded by the massive island “becoming so warm that sunshine alone (without wind) is sufficient to melt it,” according to Zender. The 10 percent development in wind-driven melt combined with warmer surface air temperature levels has led to a 34 percent increase in overall surface area ice melt. He associates this result in part to the impact of international warming on the North Atlantic Oscillation, an index of sea level pressure distinction. The moving of NAO to a positive phase has actually resulted in below-normal pressure throughout high latitudes, ushering warm air over Greenland and other Arctic areas.
Antarcticas Ice Melt Patterns
The authors found that, on the other hand with Greenland, overall Antarctic surface melt has actually decreased by about 15 percent given that 2000. The bad news is that this decrease is mostly due to 32 percent less downslope wind-generated melt on the Antarctic Peninsula where 2 susceptible ice racks have already collapsed. Zender stated its lucky that the Antarctic dizzying ozone hole discovered in the 1980s continues to recuperate, which momentarily assists to insulate the surface area from more melt.
The Global Significance of Ice Melt
” The ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica keep over 200 feet of water out of the ocean, and their melt has actually raised worldwide water level by about three-quarters of an inch since 1992,” stated Zender, who holds a joint visit in UCIs Department of Computer Science. “Although Greenland has been the No. 1 motorist of sea level rise in recent years, Antarctica is close behind and catching up and will ultimately dominate sea level increase. So its essential to model and keep track of melt as both ice sheets weaken, including the ways environment modification alters the relationship in between wind and ice.”
Future Research and Implications
Zender hopes that the research study on the role of Foehn and katabatic winds in polar regions will assist the climate science neighborhood reinforce the physical fidelity of Earth system models.
Referral: “Wind-Associated Melt Trends and Contrasts Between the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets” by Matthew K. Laffin, Charles S. Zender, Melchior van Wessem, Brice Noël and Wenshan Wang, 29 August 2023, Geophysical Research Letters.DOI: 10.1029/ 2023GL102828.
Zender was signed up with on this project by Matthew Laffin and Wenshan Wang of UCIs Department of Earth System Science and Melchior van Wessem and Brice Noel of the University of Utrechts Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research. The researchers got financial backing from the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research.
Scientists have actually reported that while Greenlands surface area ice melt has accelerated due to the combined results of warming and the impact of Foehn and katabatic winds, Antarctica has experienced a decline in its ice melt pattern. This contrast in ice melt patterns in between the two regions has substantial ramifications for global water level.
UC Irvine-led scientists recognize contributions of downslope winds and ozone layer.
Surface ice in Greenland has actually been melting at an increasing rate in recent decades, while the trend in Antarctica has moved in the opposite direction, according to scientists at the University of California, Irvine and Utrecht University in the Netherlands.
Impact of Foehn and Katabatic Winds
For a paper published recently in the American Geophysical Union journal Geophysical Research Letters, the researchers studied the function of Foehn and katabatic winds, downslope gusts that bring warm, dry air into contact with the tops of glaciers. They said that melting of the Greenland ice sheet associated to these winds has actually increased by more than 10 percent in the past 20 years; the impact of the winds on the Antarctic ice sheet has decreased by 32 percent.
UCI Earth system scientists led a study into the role of warm, dry, downslope winds in speeding up thawing of the Greenland ice sheet. In Greenland, wind-driven surface melt is compounded by the massive island “becoming so warm that sunshine alone (without wind) is enough to melt it,” according to Zender. The 10 percent development in wind-driven melt combined with warmer surface area air temperatures has actually resulted in a 34 percent increase in overall surface ice melt.” The ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica keep over 200 feet of water out of the ocean, and their melt has actually raised international sea level by about three-quarters of an inch because 1992,” stated Zender, who holds a joint consultation in UCIs Department of Computer Science. Its important to keep an eye on and model melt as both ice sheets deteriorate, including the methods environment change alters the relationship between wind and ice.”