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Originally published in Science Express on 8 February 2007
Science 16 March 2007:
Vol. 315. no. 5818, pp. 1559 - 1561
DOI: 10.1126/science.1138478
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Reports

Rapid Changes in Ice Discharge from Greenland Outlet Glaciers

Ian M. Howat,1,2* Ian Joughin,1 Ted A. Scambos2

Using satellite-derived surface elevation and velocity data, we found major short-term variations in recent ice discharge and mass loss at two of Greenland's largest outlet glaciers. Their combined rate of mass loss doubled in less than a year in 2004 and then decreased in 2006 to near the previous rates, likely as a result of fast re-equilibration of calving-front geometry after retreat. Total mass loss is a fraction of concurrent gravity-derived estimates, pointing to an alternative source of loss and the need for high-resolution observations of outlet dynamics and glacier geometry for sea-level rise predictions.

1 Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Lab, University of Washington, 1013 Northeast 40th Street, Seattle, WA 98105–6698, USA.
2 National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, 1540 30th Street, Boulder, CO, 80309–0449, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ihowat{at}apl.washington.edu

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