Home > Research > Publications & Outputs > Outburst of a subglacial flood from the surface...

Links

Text available via DOI:

View graph of relations

Outburst of a subglacial flood from the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

E-pub ahead of print

Standard

Outburst of a subglacial flood from the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet. / Bowling, Jade S.; McMillan, Malcolm; Leeson, Amber A. et al.
In: Nature Geoscience, Vol. 18, No. 8, 31.08.2025, p. 740-746.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Harvard

Bowling, JS, McMillan, M, Leeson, AA, Livingstone, SJ, Sole, AJ, Ng, FSL, Karlsson, NB, Nienow, P, Boxall, K, Noël, B, van den Broeke, MR, Slater, T, Maddalena, J, Sandberg Sørensen, L, Simonsen, SB, Mouginot, J, Millan, R, Melling, L, Taylor, L & Humbert, A 2025, 'Outburst of a subglacial flood from the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet', Nature Geoscience, vol. 18, no. 8, pp. 740-746. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-025-01746-9

APA

Bowling, J. S., McMillan, M., Leeson, A. A., Livingstone, S. J., Sole, A. J., Ng, F. S. L., Karlsson, N. B., Nienow, P., Boxall, K., Noël, B., van den Broeke, M. R., Slater, T., Maddalena, J., Sandberg Sørensen, L., Simonsen, S. B., Mouginot, J., Millan, R., Melling, L., Taylor, L., & Humbert, A. (2025). Outburst of a subglacial flood from the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Nature Geoscience, 18(8), 740-746. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-025-01746-9

Vancouver

Bowling JS, McMillan M, Leeson AA, Livingstone SJ, Sole AJ, Ng FSL et al. Outburst of a subglacial flood from the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Nature Geoscience. 2025 Aug 31;18(8):740-746. Epub 2025 Jul 30. doi: 10.1038/s41561-025-01746-9

Author

Bibtex

@article{fdfdd66d44214d588a2070a61e6f21bc,
title = "Outburst of a subglacial flood from the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet",
abstract = "As Earth{\textquoteright}s climate warms, surface melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet has intensified, increasing rates of sea-level rise. Observations and theory indicate that meltwater generated at the ice sheet surface can drain to its bed, where it flows relatively unhindered to the ocean. This understanding of water movement within and beneath ice sheets underpins the theoretical models that are used to make projections of ice sheet change. Here we present evidence of a destructive mode of meltwater drainage in Greenland. Using multiple satellite sources, we show that a 90-million-cubic-metre subglacial flood forced its way upwards from the bed, fracturing the ice sheet, and bursting through the surface. This phenomenon was triggered by the rapid drainage of a subglacial lake and occurred in a region where the ice bed was predicted to be frozen. The resulting flood caused a rapid deceleration of the downstream marine-terminating glacier. Our observations reveal a complex, bi-directional coupling between the ice sheet{\textquoteright}s surface and basal hydrological systems and demonstrate that extreme hydrological forcing may occur in regions of predicted cold-based ice. Such processes can impact the ice sheet{\textquoteright}s dynamics and structural integrity but are not currently considered in ice sheet models.",
author = "Bowling, {Jade S.} and Malcolm McMillan and Leeson, {Amber A.} and Livingstone, {Stephen J.} and Sole, {Andrew J.} and Ng, {Felix S. L.} and Karlsson, {Nanna B.} and Peter Nienow and Karla Boxall and Brice No{\"e}l and {van den Broeke}, {Michiel R.} and Thomas Slater and Jennifer Maddalena and {Sandberg S{\o}rensen}, Louise and Simonsen, {Sebastian B.} and J{\'e}r{\'e}mie Mouginot and Romain Millan and Laura Melling and Liam Taylor and Angelika Humbert",
year = "2025",
month = jul,
day = "30",
doi = "10.1038/s41561-025-01746-9",
language = "English",
volume = "18",
pages = "740--746",
journal = "Nature Geoscience",
issn = "1752-0894",
publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",
number = "8",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Outburst of a subglacial flood from the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet

AU - Bowling, Jade S.

AU - McMillan, Malcolm

AU - Leeson, Amber A.

AU - Livingstone, Stephen J.

AU - Sole, Andrew J.

AU - Ng, Felix S. L.

AU - Karlsson, Nanna B.

AU - Nienow, Peter

AU - Boxall, Karla

AU - Noël, Brice

AU - van den Broeke, Michiel R.

AU - Slater, Thomas

AU - Maddalena, Jennifer

AU - Sandberg Sørensen, Louise

AU - Simonsen, Sebastian B.

AU - Mouginot, Jérémie

AU - Millan, Romain

AU - Melling, Laura

AU - Taylor, Liam

AU - Humbert, Angelika

PY - 2025/7/30

Y1 - 2025/7/30

N2 - As Earth’s climate warms, surface melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet has intensified, increasing rates of sea-level rise. Observations and theory indicate that meltwater generated at the ice sheet surface can drain to its bed, where it flows relatively unhindered to the ocean. This understanding of water movement within and beneath ice sheets underpins the theoretical models that are used to make projections of ice sheet change. Here we present evidence of a destructive mode of meltwater drainage in Greenland. Using multiple satellite sources, we show that a 90-million-cubic-metre subglacial flood forced its way upwards from the bed, fracturing the ice sheet, and bursting through the surface. This phenomenon was triggered by the rapid drainage of a subglacial lake and occurred in a region where the ice bed was predicted to be frozen. The resulting flood caused a rapid deceleration of the downstream marine-terminating glacier. Our observations reveal a complex, bi-directional coupling between the ice sheet’s surface and basal hydrological systems and demonstrate that extreme hydrological forcing may occur in regions of predicted cold-based ice. Such processes can impact the ice sheet’s dynamics and structural integrity but are not currently considered in ice sheet models.

AB - As Earth’s climate warms, surface melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet has intensified, increasing rates of sea-level rise. Observations and theory indicate that meltwater generated at the ice sheet surface can drain to its bed, where it flows relatively unhindered to the ocean. This understanding of water movement within and beneath ice sheets underpins the theoretical models that are used to make projections of ice sheet change. Here we present evidence of a destructive mode of meltwater drainage in Greenland. Using multiple satellite sources, we show that a 90-million-cubic-metre subglacial flood forced its way upwards from the bed, fracturing the ice sheet, and bursting through the surface. This phenomenon was triggered by the rapid drainage of a subglacial lake and occurred in a region where the ice bed was predicted to be frozen. The resulting flood caused a rapid deceleration of the downstream marine-terminating glacier. Our observations reveal a complex, bi-directional coupling between the ice sheet’s surface and basal hydrological systems and demonstrate that extreme hydrological forcing may occur in regions of predicted cold-based ice. Such processes can impact the ice sheet’s dynamics and structural integrity but are not currently considered in ice sheet models.

U2 - 10.1038/s41561-025-01746-9

DO - 10.1038/s41561-025-01746-9

M3 - Journal article

VL - 18

SP - 740

EP - 746

JO - Nature Geoscience

JF - Nature Geoscience

SN - 1752-0894

IS - 8

ER -