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Pine Island Glacier: A Scientific Quest in Antarctica to Determine What’s Causing Ice Loss

By Guest PostNovember 10, 2011EnvironmentAntarctica, bismarck, cold, glacier, glacier melt, global sea level rise, harsh, hazards, ice shelf, international polar year, ipy, logistics hub, mcmurdo station, models to predict glacier acceleration, NASA, national science foundation, north dakota, nsf, ocean cavity shape, ocean currents, oceanographic instruments, pine island glacier, pine island glacier ice shelf, project, ross island, scott borg, sea-level rise, stormy climate, united states antarctic program, warmer ocean water, Washington

*Researchers study heat delivered by ocean currents to bottom side of glacier that releases more than 19 cubic miles of ice each year*

An international team of researchers, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA, will helicopter onto the Pine Island Glacier ice shelf, one of Antarctica’s most active, remote and harsh spots, in mid-December 2011–weather permitting.

The project’s mission is to determine how much heat ocean currents deliver to the underside of the Pine Island Glacier as it discharges into the sea. Quantifying this heat and understanding how much melting it causes is key to developing reliable models to predict glacier acceleration and therefore predict how much ice will be delivered from land into the ocean thus contributing to sea level rise. (more…)

Flash Forward 100 Years: Climate Change Scenarios in California’s Bay-Delta

By Guest PostNovember 3, 2011Environmentchinook salmon, climate change, ecosystem, endangered delta smelt, farmland, fish and wildlife service, francis parchaso, frequency of winter flooding, global climate change, irrigation water, james cloern, marcia mcnutt, native species, noaa, rising sea level, salinity, sea-level rise, state of california, temperature, the delta, warming scenarios

USGS scientists and academic colleagues investigated how California’s interconnected San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (the Bay-Delta system) is expected to change from 2010 to 2099 in response to both fast and moderate climate warming scenarios. Results indicate that this area will feel impacts of global climate change in the next century with shifts in its biological communities, rising sea level, and modified water supplies.

“The protection of California’s Bay-Delta system will continue to be a top priority for maintaining the state’s agricultural economy, water security to tens of millions of users, and essential habitat to a valuable ecosystem,” said USGS Director Marcia McNutt. “This new USGS research complements ongoing initiatives to conserve the Bay-Delta by providing sound scientific understanding for managing this valuable system such that it continues to provide the services we need in the face of climate uncertainty.” (more…)

Melting Ice on Arctic Islands a Major Player in Sea Level Rise

By Guest PostApril 25, 2011Environmentalaska, alex gardner, Antarctica, canadian arctic, canadian arctic archipelago, canadian arctic islands, climate, earth, gravimetry, gravitational field, greenland, ice caps, lake erie, melting glaciers, melting of glacier ice, mountain glaciers, numerical simulation, patagonia, sea-level rise, temperatures, university of michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Melting glaciers and ice caps on Canadian Arctic islands play a much greater role in sea level rise than scientists previously thought, according to a new study led by a University of Michigan researcher.

The 550,000-square-mile Canadian Arctic Archipelago contains some 30,000 islands. Between 2004 and 2009, the region lost the equivalent of three-quarters of the water in Lake Erie, the study found. Warmer-than-usual temperatures in those years caused a rapid increase in the melting of glacier ice and snow, said Alex Gardner, a research fellow in the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences who led the project. The study is published online in Nature on April 20. (more…)

Glaciers Contributing To Faster Sea-Level Rise

By Guest PostApril 9, 2011Environmentglaciers, industrial revolution, little ice age, mountain glaciers, neil glasser, outlet glaciers, patagonian icefields, sea-level rise, south america, stephan harrison

Melting mountain glaciers are contributing to sea-level rise faster than at any time in the last 350 years, according to new research published in Nature Geoscience.

A research team from the University of Exeter, Aberystwyth University, and Stockholm University undertook a survey of the 270 largest outlet glaciers of the South and North Patagonian Icefields of South America. (more…)

Study Sheds Light on How Heat is Transported to Greenland Glaciers

By Guest PostMarch 29, 2011Environmentarctic water, bath tub, claudia cenedese, fiamma straneo, fjords, floating ice tongue, freshwater runoff, glacier ice, greenland, gulf stream, heat, heat transport, helheim glacier, ice sheet, kjetil våge, melting the glaciers, ocean circulation, oscillation, predictions, ruth curry, sea-level rise, sermilik fjord, subtropical waters

Warmer air is only part of the story when it comes to Greenland’s rapidly melting ice sheet. New research by scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) highlights the role ocean circulation plays in transporting heat to glaciers.

Greenland’s ice sheet has lost mass at an accelerated rate over the last decade, dumping more ice and fresh water into the ocean. Between 2001 and 2005, Helheim Glacier, a large glacier on Greenland’s southeast coast, retreated 5 miles (8 kilometers) and its flow speed nearly doubled. (more…)

Many Coastal Wetlands Likely to Disappear this Century

By Guest PostDecember 3, 2010Environmentatlantic coast, coastal marshes, coastal wetlands, sea-level rise, sediment levels, sedimentation in wetlands, tidal ranges

Many coastal wetlands worldwide — including several on the U.S. Atlantic coast — may be more sensitive than previously thought to climate change and sea-level rise projections for the 21^st century. (more…)

Predicting Sea Level Rise: Understanding How Icebergs Form Could Lead to Better Forecasts

By Guest PostNovember 23, 2010Environmentamery ice shelf, Antarctica, climate warms, east antarctica statistical methodology, glaciers, ice sheets, ice-retreat process, iceberg calving, icebergs, jeremy bassis, larsen b ice shelf, NASA, predictions, sea-level rise, shrinking ice sheets

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— In an effort to understand how fast sea level could rise as the climate warms, a University of Michigan researcher has developed a new theory to describe how icebergs detach from ice sheets and glaciers.

This process of “iceberg calving” isn’t well understood. While scientists believe it currently accounts for roughly half of the mass lost in shrinking ice sheets, current sea level rise models don’t take changes in iceberg calving into account in their predictions, says Jeremy Bassis, an assistant professor in the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences. (more…)

Glaciers Retreating in Asia

By Guest PostAugust 30, 20101 commentEnvironmentasia, caucasus, climate change, gangotri glacier, glaciers, glaciers in china, glaciers of the world, himalaya, jane ferrigno, jr, nepal, retreat, richard s williams, russia, satellite image atlas, scientist, sea-level rise, shuji iwata, u s geological survey

*Could Impact Water Supplies for Millions and Cause Flood Conditions*

Many of Asia’s glaciers are retreating as a result of climate change.

This retreat impacts water supplies to millions of people, increases the likelihood of outburst floods that threaten life and property in nearby areas, and contributes to sea-level rise.

(more…)

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