Accelerating glacier volume loss on Juneau Icefield driven by hypsometry and melt-accelerating feedbacks
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Abstract
Globally, glaciers and icefields contribute significantly to sea level rise. Here we show that ice loss from Juneau Icefield, a plateau icefield in Alaska, accelerated after 2005 AD. Rates of area shrinkage were 5 times faster from 2015–2019 than from 1979–1990. Glacier volume loss remained fairly consistent (0.65–1.01 km3 a−1) from 1770–1979 AD, rising to 3.08–3.72 km3 a−1 from 1979–2010, and then doubling after 2010 AD, reaching 5.91 ± 0.80 km3 a−1 (2010–2020). Thinning has become pervasive across the icefield plateau since 2005, accompanied by glacier recession and fragmentation. Rising equilibrium line altitudes and increasing ablation across the plateau has driven a series of hypsometrically controlled melt-accelerating feedbacks and resulted in the observed acceleration in mass loss. As glacier thinning on the plateau continues, a mass balance-elevation feedback is likely to inhibit future glacier regrowth, potentially pushing glaciers beyond a dynamic tipping point.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Accelerating glacier volume loss on Juneau Icefield driven by hypsometry and melt-accelerating feedbacks |
| Series title | Nature Communications |
| DOI | 10.1038/s41467-024-49269-y |
| Volume | 15 |
| Year Published | 2024 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Nature |
| Contributing office(s) | Alaska Science Center |
| Description | 5099, 19 p. |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alaska |
| Other Geospatial | Juneau Icefield |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |