Peterman Glacier Drains 10% Of Greenland; Unusual New Cracks, Calving Worrying Scientists

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The world saw headlines about one of the largest icebergs ever calved a few weeks ago. But a smaller one on the other end of the globe might have bigger consequences. The chunk of ice, which broke free in the Arctic last week, is more worrisome to climate scientists who are watching one of Earth’s largest glaciers shed pieces in a way that stands to raise sea levels.

Compared with the Delaware-sized iceberg that split off of West Antarctica earlier this month, this one is almost paltry — the size of three Manhattans or so. It came off the ice shelf that buttresses the Petermann Glacier at the height of seasonal warming in the Arctic region. By contrast, the recent Antarctic iceberg, while massive, did not have a clear connection to climate. Even if it foreshadows the split-up of the ice sheet to which it was attached, it would not raise sea levels noticeably. The Arctic calving has a much clearer link to climate change.

Movement of the Petermann Glacier has sped up in recent years, dumping land-based ice into the ocean at a faster rate and drawing more ice down from the center of Greenland, said Laurence Dyke, a researcher at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland. Meanwhile, the ice shelf that braces it and slows the rate of flow is disintegrating as climate change transforms the region.

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Land-based glaciers in Greenland are a primary contributor to global sea-level rise, and they’re expected to increasingly lose their mass in the future. Petermann accounts for almost 10 percent of the Greenland ice sheet; it alone could raise sea levels by a foot. As Petermann retreats, it will draw down ice from the center of Greenland, all of which will have a direct effect on sea-level increase. Researchers have cautioned that sea levels could rise by 3 feet at the end of the century, but a more rapid disintegration of Arctic glaciers would make that number larger. A study published earlier this year in Natureshowed that the rate of melting in Greenland has increased fivefold in the last 25 years.

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https://climatecrocks.com/2017/08/02/antarctic-berg-gets-news-but-look-to-greenland-for-real-iceberg-impacts/#more-47307