Articles | Volume 30, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-1849-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-1849-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Increasing glacier runoff in northwestern Greenland simulated from 1950 to 2023
Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan
Koji Fujita
Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan
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Light-absorbing particles on surface ice in ablation areas can accelerate glacier melting and shrinkage. Snow and ice were collected from the ablation area of Potanin Glacier, Mongolia. The black carbon (BC) mass concentration of surface granular ice was much larger than that of fresh snow and surface melted water, suggesting that BC is retained in the granular ice at melting. The granular ice retained BC particles best in the upstream ablation area, but the capacity decreased in the downstream ablation area.
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Naoko Nagatsuka, Kumiko Goto-Azuma, Koji Fujita, Yuki Komuro, Motohiro Hirabayashi, Jun Ogata, Kaori Fukuda, Yoshimi Ogawa-Tsukagawa, Kyotaro Kitamura, Ayaka Yonekura, Fumio Nakazawa, Yukihiko Onuma, Naoyuki Kurita, Sune Olander Rasmussen, Giulia Sinnl, Trevor James Popp, and Dorthe Dahl-Jensen
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Preprint archived
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We present a new high-temporal-resolution record of mineral composition in a northeastern Greenland ice-core (EGRIP) over the past 100 years. The ice core dust composition and its variation differed significantly from a northwestern Greenland ice core, which is likely due to differences in the geological sources of the dust. Our results suggest that the EGRIP ice core dust was constantly supplied from Northern Eurasia, North America, and Asia with minor contribution from Greenland coast.
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We investigate fluctuations in Bhutanese lake-terminating glaciers focusing on the dynamics change before and after proglacial lake formation at Thorthormi Glacier (TG) based on photogrammetry, satellite, and GPS surveys. The thinning rate of TG became double compared to before proglacial lake formation, and the flow velocity has also sped up considerably. Those changes would be due to the reduction in longitudinal ice compression by the detachment of the glacier terminus from the end moraine.
Naoko Nagatsuka, Kumiko Goto-Azuma, Akane Tsushima, Koji Fujita, Sumito Matoba, Yukihiko Onuma, Remi Dallmayr, Moe Kadota, Motohiro Hirabayashi, Jun Ogata, Yoshimi Ogawa-Tsukagawa, Kyotaro Kitamura, Masahiro Minowa, Yuki Komuro, Hideaki Motoyama, and Teruo Aoki
Clim. Past, 17, 1341–1362, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1341-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1341-2021, 2021
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Here we present a first high-temporal-resolution record of mineral composition in a Greenland ice core (SIGMA-D) over the past 100 years using SEM–EDS analysis. Our results show that the ice core dust composition varied on multi-decadal scales, which was likely affected by local temperature changes. We suggest that the ice core dust was constantly supplied from distant sources (mainly northern Canada) as well as local ice-free areas in warm periods (1915 to 1949 and 2005 to 2013).
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Short summary
Increased runoff due to ice melt in Greenland contributes to sea-level rise and flooding in coastal settlements. We reconstructed glacier runoff in northwestern Greenland in 1950–2023. Long-term modeling shows a recent increase in runoff linked to changes in atmospheric circulation, characterized by enhanced northward transport of heat and moisture. The results highlight a strong influence of atmospheric variability on glacier runoff and its impacts on local communities in northern Greenland.
Increased runoff due to ice melt in Greenland contributes to sea-level rise and flooding in...