Celia Trunz and Jason Gulley conducting melt water flow experiment on the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet, 16 miles from the western edge of the ice north west of Ilulissat. Gulley is seen at the mouth of the moulin which transports surface water to the bottom of the glacier, while Trunz adds a fluorescent dye to study flow dynamics. Later they will attempt to insert a water pressure gauge down the vertical shaft of a newly formed moulin, 1000 meters below. This surface water lubricates the ice/rock contact, easing the flow of the ice towards the coast. It is estimated that some 60% of ice loss in Greenland is due to melt, and the rest due to calving at the terminus of the glacier. Their work is funded by the National Science Foundation, and they are trying to get a better understanding of melt water dynamics.
In 2017, Geophysical Research Letters reported that the Western part of Greenland’s ice sheet is melting at its fastest rate in at least 450 years, and 80% faster than previously thought. Some scientists believe that the Arctic hasn’t seen ice melt similar to this in 5,000 years. If the ice sheet melts entirely, sea levels would rise 24 feet, leaving lower Manhattan and Washington D.C.’s National Mall underwater.
- Filename
- STNMTZ_20170723_2254.tif
- Copyright
- ©2017 George Steinmetz
- Image Size
- 5272x3948 / 59.6MB
- www.GeorgeSteinmetz.com
- Contained in galleries
- Climate Change
