Articles | Volume 15, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5739-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5739-2021
Research article
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20 Dec 2021
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 20 Dec 2021

Impact of the melt–albedo feedback on the future evolution of the Greenland Ice Sheet with PISM-dEBM-simple

Maria Zeitz, Ronja Reese, Johanna Beckmann, Uta Krebs-Kanzow, and Ricarda Winkelmann

Model code and software

PISM dEBM dev M. Zeitz https://github.com/mariazeitz/pism/tree/pik/dEBM_dev

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Short summary
With the increasing melt of the Greenland Ice Sheet, which contributes to sea level rise, the surface of the ice darkens. The dark surfaces absorb more radiation and thus experience increased melt, resulting in the melt–albedo feedback. Using a simple surface melt model, we estimate that this positive feedback contributes to an additional 60 % ice loss in a high-warming scenario and additional 90 % ice loss for moderate warming. Albedo changes are important for Greenland’s future ice loss.