Publication Date:
2012-05-01
Description:
Recent changes in speed, thinning, and retreat rates of marine-terminating outlet glaciers have raised concerns about the future stability of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Establishing a longer term record of outlet glacier retreat rates is essential to provide a context for present-day observations and to improve and constrain numerical models of outlet glacier behavior. New exposure dating (10Be) of streamlined bedrock surfaces and glacial erratic boulders of Sermilik Fjord, southeast Greenland, the present-day drainage route of Helheim Glacier, documents rapid retreat (∼80 m a−1) of this major marine-terminating outlet glacier at the close of the last glaciation. The glacier front retreated ∼80 km to within 20 km of the present-day (2010) position of Helheim Glacier in
Print ISSN:
0091-7613
Electronic ISSN:
1943-2682
Topics:
Geosciences
Permalink