Greenland Glaciers Continue to Break Up
25.08.2008 - Ice & Snow, Other, Arctic
Using images updated daily by National Aeronautics and Space Administration satellites, researchers have found break-ups of two of the largest glaciers in Greenland over the past month.
The Petermann Glacier lost 29 km2 between July 10th and July 24th. This is equal to half the size of Manhattan Island. Jason Box, an associate professor of geography at Ohio State University, and his colleagues are worried about what seems to be a massive crack appearing further away from the margin. This could entail an imminent and much larger break-up to come.
Part of the Northern branch of the Jakobshavn Glacier has, on the other hand, broken-up over the past few weeks. In total, the glacier has lost 10 km2 since the last melt season. It is believed that the glacier has not reached the current point in at least the last 4,000 to 6,000 years. The glacier has retreated inland further than it has at any time in the past 150 years of observation.
These break-ups significantly reduce the production of Greenland’s glaciers. The Jakobshavn Glacier dominates the approximate 130 glaciers which flow out of Greenland’s inland into the sea. It is the island’s most productive glacier, responsible for one-tenth of the icebergs calving off into the sea from Greenland. If the Petermann Glacier actually breaks up all the way to the upstream rift, one-third of Greenland’s massive ice field would be lost.
