Greenland. The Giant Stirs, ever So Slightly.
July 16, 2012
When writing The dark side of Greenland, a recent blog post on decreasing reflectivity of the Greenland ice sheet, with images comparing the southwest of Greenland with satellite images from previous years, I of course realized that when that ice sheet becomes less reflective, it will soak up more solar energy and thus melt faster. But the practical aspect of this theory never really dawned on me, until I saw this video:
Levels in the Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua river, also knows as the Watson river, have reached such heights that they have smashed the two bridges connecting the north and south of Kangerlussuaq, a small settlement in southwestern Greenland, located at the head of the fjord of the same name. The river water stems from different meltwater outflow streams from Russell Glacier (an outflow of the Greenland ice sheet), and is a tributary of Qinnguata Kuussua, the main river in the Kangerlussuaq area.
Of course the local media are covering the story. Here are a few excerpts from different news articles from Sermitsiaq (via Google translate):
What has happened in detail over the inland ice, which caused this incident, is not yet known, but the fierce heat has certainly been an important player. And unfortunately it looks like the weather will not come to the Greenlanders’ rescue, as the air temperatures over the ice sheet are expected to remain warmer than normal at least the next 7-10 days, writes Greenland meteorological Jesper Eriksen at dmi.dk.
However, it’s not only hot on the icecap at Kangerlussuaq. Deep in the ice, there are also plus degrees:
In Greenland, it has been very hot over the inland ice in comparison to normal conditions. On July 11th at 15 UTC the recorded temperature at the Summit Camp weather station, which is located at the ice cap’s highest altitude (3200 metres), was 2.2 degrees Celsius. That is quite high for this height, particularly in light of the fact that ice has a relatively high albedo.
Just 2.2 °C doesn’t sound like much (although it looks to be a new record for July), until one realises that we are talking Summit Camp here. At an altitude of 3200 metres. In the middle of the Greenland ice sheet. Nothing but ice.
3.5 million liters of water pressed through the narrow river every second. It’s almost a doubling of previous records. It’s no wonder that a 20 ton wheel loader was torn away from the bridge in Kangerlussuaq like a toy.
Dr. Mauri Pelto sent me a link to that video – here:
More Below – Petermann Glacier Calves Again.
Petermann Glacier has calved another large ice island, about half the size of the calving of two years ago, which amounts to about two Manhattans.
This is what it looks like:
This second big calving (spotted this time by Arcticicelost80) is another spectacular event on Greenland this year, following retreats of the Jakobshavn Glacier and lowest reflectivity of the Greenland ice sheet on record (see blog post), leading to unprecedented flooding in the southwest of Greenland. This calving was expected to happen, as the rift in the glacier has been there for years (see this thorough explanation by glacier expert Mauri Pelto).
From the Icy Seas blog:
This morning Petermann Glacier lost another ice island of a size comparable to what it lost in 2010:
This second big calving in as many years doesn’t come as a surprise, as attested by this article on the New York Times blog from August last year:
Thanks to satellites and other instruments, researchers do know what is happening to ocean and air temperatures in northwest Greenland. They have been warming briskly of late, as global-warming theory predicted decades ago that they would for the whole Arctic.
Dr. Box (Jason Box of Byrd Polar Center at Ohio State) finds a drastic increase in sea-surface temperatures in the region, and a sharp decline in sea ice. Scientists suspect that warmer water is circulating under Greenland’s floating ice shelves and causing them to weaken. But given the dearth of measurements from beneath Petermann, they do not have hard proof that is what happened in this case.
The breakup of the Petermann ice shelf fits into a broader picture. Many lines of evidence suggest that melting and breakup of Greenland ice, a phenomenon once concentrated on the southern end of that island, has spread to the colder northwest corner. As I reported last year, many scientists are worried about the overall fate of the Greenland ice sheet, especially the prospect that its melting could raise global sea levels substantially.
(…)
Dr. Box said another chunk of the Petermann Glacier, this one about twice the size of Manhattan, is now on the verge of breaking loose.
Dr. Box was right.
Climate Denial Crock of the Week 
July 17, 2012 at 12:13 am
Are we watching the start of something big? A bit like hearing the first creaks of an 18 wheeler parked at the top of the hill.
July 17, 2012 at 1:54 am
Re: “Are we watching the start of something big? A bit like hearing the first creaks of an 18 wheeler parked at the top of the hill.”
Nah. This is just normal seasonal titillation in the cryosphere. Look at the non-news from Antarctica for reassurance. There’s nothing melting there now. 🙂
July 17, 2012 at 3:01 am
Yeah. Because it’s winter there…
(shaking my head)
July 17, 2012 at 1:29 am
Comparing rivers I note the following:
3.5 million liters per second is equal to about 123,000 CFS. In comparison, the greatest flow in the modern record for the Colorado River (inflow to Lake Powell) occurred in July, 1983 at 122,700 CFS.
This month the inflow to Lake Powell is averaging just over 4,000 CFS.
The lowest recorded flow rate ever recorded on the Mississippi River was 85,000 cfs (November 4, 1939). Last year the Mississippi peaked at over 3,000,000 CFS in June at the Old River Works in northern Louisiana before diversions brought the flow down below that point.
The average annual flow for the Columbia River at The Dalles, Oregon is approximately 190,000 cubic feet per second.
By any standards, there’s a lot of water flowing off the Watson Glacier right now. 🙂
July 17, 2012 at 1:41 am
holy crap. can you point me to those sources?
July 19, 2012 at 12:24 am
3.5 megalitres per second = 3,500 tonnes per second.
That is a mass balance delta of 3,500 x 86400 = 300 million tonnes per day???
Third of a billion tonnes per day, and this is just one of thousands of rivers.
>boggle!<
July 17, 2012 at 2:21 am
Re: “holy crap. can you point me to those sources?”
I’ll try.
1) Colorado River:
In comparison, the greatest flow in the modern record for the Colorado River (inflow to Lake Powell) occurred in July, 1983 at 122,700 CFS.
This month the inflow to Lake Powell is averaging just over 4,000 CFS.
This data can be found at: http://lakepowell.water-data.com/
[Scroll down to “Last 14 Measurements” to see that the average flow has been just over 4,200 CFS. Then scroll down further to the dialogue box. Select “All Time Records”. That’s where you find that on Friday, July 1, 1983 the inflow to Lake Powell was 122739.00 CFS. They nearly lost the dam shortly after. Observers at the scene felt a continuous seismic shaking with the combined dam release and the overflow release. Subsequently, the overflow paths have been enlarged.]
2) Mississippi River
The lowest recorded flow data is here:
http://www.americaswetlandresources.com/background_facts/detailedstory/MississippiRiverAnatomy.html
The figures for the June, 2011 flow in the Mississippi is something I relied on my memory for. I shouldn’t have. The actual record setting flow was about 2,300,000 CFS:
3) Columbia River:
“The average annual flow for the Columbia River at The Dalles, Oregon is approximately 190,000 cubic feet per second.”
Source: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/cwp/cwpfactmap.html
July 17, 2012 at 2:30 am
I tend to shy away from this kind of anecdotal evidence. I’m more of a graphs and datasets kind of guy. Don’t look at one extreme event, look at the long term trend. But, damn, this footage it’s quite powerful stuff.
July 17, 2012 at 3:49 am
[…] Arctic Sea Ice Blog: When writing The dark side of Greenland, a recent blog post on decreasing reflectivity of the Greenland ice sheet, with images comparing the southwest of Greenland with satelli… […]
July 17, 2012 at 8:59 am
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July 17, 2012 at 9:40 pm
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July 18, 2012 at 2:34 pm
This is three dramatic changes in one month from an ice sheet that is built over tens of thousands of years. This is not a glacial pace, the changes we are seeing are redefining the ice sheet.
July 18, 2012 at 9:46 pm
Hopefully we can stem the tide of events like this and the general changes overall on that ice sheet.
July 24, 2012 at 10:13 pm
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