During the last 4 many years, warming climate and ocean temperatures have rapidly altered the Greenland Ice Sheet, creating concern for marine ecosystems and weather patterns worldwide. The environment has challenged scientists of their attempts to measure how water moves around and melts the ice sheet because equipment could be destroyed by icebergs floating near the glaciers.
Collected using a novel approach, research from the University of Maine has unearthed latest information to assist scientists higher understand circulation patterns of ocean water around glaciers. A bunch of pioneers in glacial research attached GPS devices to icebergs and used their mobility to grasp fjord circulation, which may ultimately enhance the accuracy of climate models.
Within the summers of 2014 and 2019, the GPS devices tracked hourly changes within the position of 13 icebergs as they passed through Greenland’s Ilulissat Icefjord toward the ocean. Starting as research during her time on the University of Oregon, UMaine assistant professor of geomatics Kristin Schild collected the fjord data with a colleague from UO, earth sciences professor and oceanographer David Sutherland. In 2020, an undergraduate student, Sydney Baratta, used these datasets as the main target of her senior capstone project. Continuing the research into her graduate studies, Baratta processed and analyzed her findings and recently published the ends in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans.
Study results showed circulation in the first fjord is greatly affected by freshwater flow from connecting tributary fjords, which is critically necessary to think about in circulation models. Such models can range from studying ocean currents to predicting the speed at which sea level could rise.
“With the ability to utilize the numerous icebergs which might be on this fjord is actually unique to the study,” said Baratta.
Ilulissat Icefjord is home to Sermeq Kujalleq, one in every of the fastest and most energetic glaciers on the planet. This makes the fjord a great, but difficult location to grasp glaciers’ interaction with the ocean and predict how the icy giants reply to ocean warming.
“Take into consideration ice cubes in a glass of water. They float,” said Baratta. “But when it’s in a fjord, under the influence of other forces like wind and the currents, the icebergs move around. What we desired to do was put GPS trackers on those icebergs to infer what the circulation within the fjord is and see how that’s influenced by the environment.”
Carlos Moffat, who researches glacier-ocean interactions and polar oceanography on the University of Delaware, said equipment stationed in fjords is usually crushed by all of the movement. How Schild collected these datasets, he said, was modern. As a substitute of viewing the icebergs as an obstacle, she used them as a tool to hold and protect the equipment.
“It is a situation where the thing you are inquisitive about is destroying your gear,” said Moffat. “So what they’ve done on this study is essentially flip the script.”
Impact beyond the Arctic
Greenland, where Ilulissat Icefjord is positioned, and Antarctica have the biggest fresh water reservoirs of ice on the planet. How quickly the ice sheets melt contribute to sea level rise worldwide. In Greenland and Antarctica, glaciers “dip their toes” in ocean water, Moffat said, which may allow ocean warming to speed up how quickly the ice melts or breaks into icebergs.
Lauren Ross, UMaine associate professor of hydraulics and water resources engineering, said Baratta, Schild and Sutherland’s findings can be useful for a spread of research regarding fjord circulation, including her area of experience — the transport of fabric in water.
She recently studied how freshwater flowing right into a fjord negatively impacted the expansion of a harmful microscopic algae. Unlike in Greenland, more freshwater helped the economy and ecosystems surrounding the fjord.
“With the intention to be as accurate as possible, we have now to have essentially the most accurate data to feed into the models,” said Ross. “I feel it will grow to be increasingly necessary because the climate warms.”
Just like Ross’ reflection, Schild said recognizing that changes are happening within the environment is the start line. Scientists at the moment are working to fill gaps in research to represent the changing environment and create higher predictive models.
“Glaciers have reshaped global climate and ecosystems for hundreds of thousands of years,” said UMaine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy. “Novel research from our world-renowned climate scientists provides more insight into how they interact with their surrounding environments and plays an important role in predicting our climate future.”
Data processing and evaluation was supported by grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA’s Early Profession Investigator Program, which focuses on using space-based distant sensing and model integration to learn humanity.
While the ever-altering Greenland Ice Sheet has dramatic local impact, it’s the highest of a slippery slope slanted toward changes worldwide. What happens within the frozen fjords 2,000 miles to the north of Maine affects Latest England’s seafood cuisine and has a job within the increasingly devastating storms along the coast.
“All the things is interconnected,” said Baratta. “Changes happening within the Arctic can have trickle-down effects that impact what we see in Maine.”