Articles | Volume 19, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-3089-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-3089-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
15 Aug 2025
Research article |
| 15 Aug 2025
| 15 Aug 2025
Seasonality in terminus ablation rates for the glaciers in Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat)
Department of Geosciences, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, USA
Ellyn M. Enderlin
Department of Geosciences, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, USA
Dominik Fahrner
Department of Glaciology and Climate, Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Copenhagen, Denmark
Twila Moon
National Snow and Ice Data Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Dustin Carroll
Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, San José State University, San Jose, California, USA
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
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Marine-terminating glaciers can lose mass through frontal ablation, which comprises submarine and surface melting, and iceberg calving. We estimate frontal ablation for 49 marine-terminating glaciers in Greenland by combining existing, satellite derived data and calculating volume change near the glacier front over time. The dataset offers exciting opportunities to study the influence of climate forcings on marine-terminating glaciers in Greenland over multi-decadal timescales.
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Short summary
The sum of ice flowing towards a glacier’s terminus and changes in the position of the terminus over time collectively makes up terminus ablation. We found that terminus ablation has more seasonal variability than previously concluded from flux-based estimates of ice discharge. The findings are of importance in understanding the timing and location of the freshwater input to the fjords and surrounding ocean basins affecting local and regional ecosystems and ocean properties.
The sum of ice flowing towards a glacier’s terminus and changes in the position of the terminus...
