Jakobshavn glacier grows for third straight year

New NASA data shows that Jakobshavn Glacier - Greenland's fastest-moving and fastest-thinning glacier for most of the 2000s - grew from 2018 into 2019, marking three consecutive years of growth.

These images, produced using GLISTIN-A radar data as part of NASA's Oceans Melting Greenland (OMG) mission, show how much mass the glacier gained from 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19. Areas with the most growth - about 33 yards (30 meters) - are shown in dark blue. Red areas represent thinning. The glacier grew 22-33 yards (20-30 meters) each year between 2016 and 2019.

OMG, led by Principal Investigator Josh Willis, is one of several NASA missions dedicated to furthering our understanding of global sea level rise. Jakobshavn's growth did not come as a surprise to scientists.

A recent study team from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, determined that water transported to the area around the glacier by a key ocean current has been colder than it was prior to 2016, when the growth began. The colder water is not melting the ice from the front and underneath the glacier as quickly as the warmer water did.

The temperature change of the current's water is part of a known climate pattern, one that is expected to flip again, and cause more of the melting and ice thinning for which Jakobshavn is known. Although the melting rate has slowed, the glacier continues to contribute to sea level rise, ultimately losing more ice to the ocean than it gains from snow accumulation overall.

Related Links
NASA's Ocean's Melting Greenland (OMG) mission
Beyond the Ice Age

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

Asia's glaciers provide buffer against drought
London, UK (SPX) Jun 03, 2019
A new study to assess the contribution that Asia's high mountain glaciers make to relieving water stress in the region is published this week (29 May 2019) in the journal Nature. The study has important economic and social implications for a region that is vulnerable to drought. Climate change is causing most of the region's glaciers to shrink. British Antarctic Survey (BAS) glaciologist Dr Hamish Pritchard found that during droughts, glaciers become the largest supplier of water to some of Asia's ... read more