Rights statement: © 2014 American Geophysical Union
Final published version, 3.58 MB, PDF document
Available under license: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Final published version
Licence: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
<mark>Journal publication date</mark> | 27/01/2015 |
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<mark>Journal</mark> | Geophysical Research Letters |
Issue number | 24 |
Volume | 41 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Pages (from-to) | 8902-8909 |
Publication Status | Published |
Early online date | 2/12/14 |
<mark>Original language</mark> | English |
We use satellite observations to document rapid acceleration and ice loss from a formerly slow-flowing, marine-based sector of Austfonna, the largest ice cap in the Eurasian Arctic. During the past two decades, the sector ice discharge has increased 45-fold, the velocity regime has switched from predominantly slow (~ 101 m/yr) to fast (~ 103 m/yr) flow, and rates of ice thinning have exceeded 25 m/yr. At the time of widespread dynamic activation, parts of the terminus may have been near floatation. Subsequently, the imbalance has propagated 50 km inland to within 8 km of the ice cap summit. Our observations demonstrate the ability of slow-flowing ice to mobilize and quickly transmit the dynamic imbalance inland; a process that we show has initiated rapid ice loss to the ocean and redistribution of ice mass to locations more susceptible to melt, yet which remains poorly understood. Key Points Recent dynamic activation of a formerly slow-flowing marine Arctic ice capImbalance has spread 50 km inland to within 8 km of the ice cap summitIce discharge has increased 45-fold, and thinning rates have exceeded 25 m/yr