The acceleration stretches and thins the glacier, which makes it more susceptible to fractures, or rifts, that can break and form an iceberg. Rifting and regular iceberg calving are typical parts of an outlet glaciers life cycle, even in northwest Greenland.
Satellite image of Petermann Glacier got on May 14, 2023, using the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8.
In 2017, a rift formed near a stream channel running lengthwise along the glaciers surface. It remains to be seen if the rift will ultimately grow throughout the width of the glacier and release another large iceberg.
Other indications of action are visible along Petermanns eastern edge, where the ice of smaller glaciers flowing into the fjord has actually been mashed up by the more huge Petermann. As a result, a mix of reasonably small, thin icebergs lines the east side of the main glacier.
Warming ocean waters are helping to melt the floating ice tongue from listed below. This melting might be especially considerable along the grounding line– the area where the glacier loses contact with the bedrock and begins to drift.
Recent research found that the highest melt rates under Petermanns floating ice tongue– as much as 80 meters per year– happened within its grounding zone. Tides can help the warmer seawater reach further into the grounding zone than formerly believed, where it can melt inland ice from below. Unlike meltwater from icebergs or an ice tongue, which are already floating, meltwater from inland ice adds to water level increase.
NASA Earth Observatory images by Allison Nussbaum, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview and Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Kathryn Hansen with details from Christopher Shuman/UMBC/NASA.
Greenlands Petermann Glacier is quickly retreating with increased thinning and accelerated flow. Warming ocean waters are boosting melt rates, especially at the glaciers grounding zone, and iceberg calving occasions have actually decreased the ice tongue significantly. Petermann Glacier is one of Greenlands largest marine-terminating glaciers. Like a lot of glaciers that discharge ice into the ocean, Petermann occasionally sheds large icebergs. Contact with the sea also suggests warming waters have actually been melting the glaciers ice from below, with ramifications for sea level rise.
Greenlands Petermann Glacier is quickly pulling back with increased thinning and accelerated flow. Warming ocean waters are boosting melt rates, especially at the glaciers grounding zone, and iceberg calving occasions have reduced the ice tongue considerably. These changes are raising issues over possible contributions to global water level rise.
Years of retreat are noticeable from above, but harder-to-see changes below the waterline might likewise affect this renowned glaciers future.
Petermann Glacier is among Greenlands biggest marine-terminating glaciers. Like a lot of glaciers that discharge ice into the ocean, Petermann periodically sheds large icebergs. Contact with the sea likewise implies warming waters have actually been melting the glaciers ice from below, with ramifications for sea level increase.
Satellite picture of Petermann Glacier acquired on August 16, 2002, utilizing the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Terra satellite.
Satellite picture of Petermann Glacier acquired on August 16, 2022, utilizing the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Terra satellite.
This set of images, acquired with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Terra satellite, shows retreat of the glaciers floating ice tongue. The upper image reveals the glacier in August 2002; the lower image reveals the very same location 20 years later, in August 2022.