Observing Ice Sheet/Ocean Interactions in a Greenland Glacial
Fjord Arctic Research Initiative 2009 Funded Project Mass loss
from the Greenland Ice Sheet rapidly increased over the last
decade raising concerns for sea-level rise and for the impact of
the excess fresh water on the ocean circulation. The mass loss
is primarily due to the acceleration and thinning of outlet
glaciers and has been attributed to changes in conditions at
their termini, in deep fjords where the ice extends several
hundreds of meters below sea-level. The fact that the ocean
around Greenland exhibited a 1-2 ºC increase at roughly the same
time has prompted numerous scientists to conclude that the ice
sheet’s changes have been triggered by ocean warming. This new
hypothesis, with potentially profound implications for our
climate system, is, however, largely unverified because of the
chronic lack of measurements from the ice/ocean boundary.
Obtaining such measurements is thus crucial to both
understanding and modeling the ice sheet and i