Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




EARTH OBSERVATION
Rivers Are Draining Greenland Quickly: NASA-UCLA
by Staff Writers
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 14, 2015


A river of meltwater flowing across Greenland's ice sheet. Image courtesy UCLA/Laurence C. Smith. For a larger version of this image please go here.

Rivers of glacial meltwater flowing over Greenland's frozen surface may be contributing as much to global sea level rise as all other processes that drain water from the melting ice sheet combined, according to researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, and NASA.

The new finding was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research is dedicated to the memory of coauthor Alberto Behar of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, who died in a small-plane crash in Los Angeles on Jan. 9.

Eighty percent of Greenland, which is about the size of the United States west of the Rocky Mountains, is covered by ice, which has the potential to make a significant contribution to sea level rise as it melts.

Because Greenland's ice sheet is vast and difficult to study from ground level, scientists are still learning about the many processes by which its melting water reaches the ocean. This is the first study of the drainage system of rivers and streams that forms atop the ice sheet in summer.

The new paper is based on research that took place on the ice sheet itself, carried out by lead author Laurence Smith of UCLA, JPL's Behar and nine other researchers in July 2012, and on remote sensing data from the same period.

The researchers traveled by helicopter to map the network of rivers and streams over about 2,000 square miles (5,600 square kilometers) of Greenland. They were especially interested in learning how much of the meltwater remained within the ice sheet and how much drained to the ocean.

Virtually all of the flowing water drains directly to the ocean through sinkholes, the researchers found.

Behar designed two types of remotely controlled boats to collect data from the surface water. One was a drone boat that measured the depth of the water and how much light it reflected, allowing the researchers to create a scale with which to calibrate the depth of the surface water from satellite images.

This boat was used on lakes and slow-flowing rivers. For dangerous, swift-flowing rivers, Behar developed disposable robotic river drifters that measured streamflow velocity, depth and temperature as they swept downstream.

"The measurements we collected would not have been possible without the truly innovative instruments designed by Alberto Behar, and his steady hand during some very trying conditions in the field. The scientific outcomes of this study can be traced directly to him," said lead author Smith, professor and chair of the geography department at UCLA.

Behar, who was also a research professor at Arizona State University in Tempe, produced many other innovative technologies in a 23-year career at JPL that specialized in robotics for exploring extreme environments in our solar system.

To measure ice sheets in Antarctica as well as Greenland, he also developed robotic submarines and ice rovers. Behar was an investigation scientist for instruments on NASA's Mars Curiosity rover and Mars Odyssey orbiter.

The full paper is available online.

For more information on the research please go here.

Additional information and quotes about Alberto Behar and his career can be found here.


Thanks for being here;
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 Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
University of California, Los Angeles
Earth Observation News - Suppiliers, Technology and Application






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








EARTH OBSERVATION
First satellite visible imagery of FY-2G successfully acquired
Beijing (XNA) Jan 14, 2015
At 13:00 of January 8, National Satellite Meteorological Centre (NSMC) of China Meteorological Administration (CMA) successfully acquired the first satellite visible imagery of FY-2G. The imagery is quite clear and in focus. "Compared with YF-2F satellite, the YF-2G further suppresses the stray light of satellite imagery and significantly improve the imagery quality. The first satellite vi ... read more


EARTH OBSERVATION
Service module of China's lunar orbiter enters 127-minute orbit

Service Module of Chinese Probe Enters Lunar Orbit

Chinese spacecraft to return to moon's orbit

Russian Company Proposes to Build Lunar Base

EARTH OBSERVATION
Crystal-Rich Rock 'Mojave' is Next Mars Drill Target

Team Working on Strategy to Fix Flash Memory Issue

Long-lost British space probe found on Mars: agency

Russia-EU Mars Research Program to Be Completed

EARTH OBSERVATION
Long duration weightlessness in space induces a blood shift

Experts explore the medical safety needs of civilian space travel

Singer Sarah Brightman delays space tourist training

U.S. food headed for ISS stalled in Russian customs

EARTH OBSERVATION
China launches the FY-2 08 meteorological satellite successfully

China's Long March puts satellite in orbit on 200th launch

Countdown to China's new space programs begins

China develops new rocket for manned moon mission: media

EARTH OBSERVATION
Astronauts take shelter after alarm at space station

Astronauts' year-long mission will test limits

Russia delays decision on using ISS after 2020

Space station worms help battle muscle and bone loss

EARTH OBSERVATION
Firefly Space Systems and NASA have Inked Space Act Agreement

Russian firm seals $1 billion deal to supply US rocket engines

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wants to shake up satellite industry

Vega ready to launch ESA spaceplane

EARTH OBSERVATION
Ground-breaking research to discover new planets

NASA releases retro-styled travel posters for newly discovered planets

Meteorites weren't exactly the building blocks of young planets

A twist on planetary origins

EARTH OBSERVATION
Atomic placement of elements counts for strong concrete

A novel inorganic material emitting laser light in solution is discovered

Zinc oxide materials tapped for tiny energy harvesting devices

Researchers from MIPT predict properties of surface




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.