Research project IGV| The stability and history of the marine cryosphere in northwest Greenland
Icebreaker Oden outside northwestern Greenland. Photo: Martin Jakobsson
Petermann Glacier lost nearly 40% of its floating ice tongue during recent calving events. Patterns and causes for sudden changes on human decadal time scales rather than gradual changes on millennial time scales are in focus. The geological control on ice retreat dynamics, such as influences on ice stability from bedrock and/or landscape physiography, the history and dynamic roles of the floating ice tongue and sea ice will be addressed. This project is based on data from the successful Petermann Glacier 2015 expedition with icebreaker Oden, including sediment cores from 57 sites, multibeam bathymetry, water column imagery, and seismic reflection profiles.
The expedition involved 58 scientists from six countries and this project forms a key component of the consortium’s effort to understand the history and dynamics of the Petermann Glacier. This project includes detailed analyses of submarine glacial landforms, reconstruction of sea-ice history using biomarkers, reconstruction of bottom water variability using Mg/Ca paleo-thermometry and compilation of a high-resolution bathymetric-topographic model of the region. The project will contribute to a better understanding of marine cryosphere dynamics, the remaining largest uncertainty in our future assessments of sea-level rise.
Project managers
Martin Jakobsson1. Åkesson, H., Morlighem, M., O'Regan, M., and Jakobsson, M., 2021 (in press). Future projections of Petermann Glacier under ocean warming depend strongly on friction law. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 126, e2020JF005921. Doi: 10.1029/2020JF005921
2. Holmes, F.A., Kirchner, N., Prakash, A., Stranne, C., Dijkstra, S., Jakobsson , M., 2021 (accepted). Calving at Ryder glacier, Northern Greenland. JGR: Earth Surface. V. 126, p. e2020JF005872. Doi: 10.1029/2020JF005872
3. Stranne, C., Nilsson, J., Ulfsbo, A., O’Regan, M., Coxall, H.K., Meire, L., Muchowski, J., Mayer, L.A., Brüchert, V., Fredriksson, J., Thornton, B., Chawarski, J., West, G., Weidner, E., Jakobsson, M., 2021. The climate sensitivity of northern Greenland fjords is amplified through sea-ice damming. Communications Earth & Environment. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-021-00140-8
4. Jakobsson, M., Mayer, L. A., Nilsson, J., Stranne, C., Calder, B., O’regan, M., Farrell, J. W., Cronin, T. M., Brüchert, V., Chawarski, J., Eriksson, B., Fredriksson, J., Gemery, L., Glueder, A., Holmes, F. A., Jerram, K., Kirchner, N., Mix, A., Muchowski, J., Prakash, A., Reilly, B., Thornton, B., Ulfsbo, A., Weidner, E., Åkesson, H., Handl, T., Ståhl, E., Boze, L.-G., Reed, S., West, G. and Padman, J. 2020. Ryder Glacier in northwest Greenland is shielded from warm Atlantic water by a bathymetric sill: Communications Earth & Environment, v. 1, no. 1. Doi: 10.1038/s43247-020-00043-0
5. Jennings, A., Andrews, J., Reilly, B., Walczak, M., Jakobsson, M., Mix, A., Stoner, J., Nicholls, K.W. and Cheseby, M., 2020. Modern foraminiferal assemblages in northern Nares Strait, Petermann Fjord, and beneath Petermann ice tongue, NW Greenland: Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, v. 52, no. 1, p. 491–511. Doi: 10.1080/15230430.2020.1806986
6. Jakobsson, M., Mayer, L. A., Bringensparr, C., Castro, C. F., Mohammad, R., Johnson, P., Ketter, T., Accettella, D., Amblas, D., An, L., Arndt, J. E., Canals, M., Casamor, J. L., Chauché, N., Coakley, B., Danielson, S., Demarte, M., Dickson, M.-L., Dorschel, B., Dowdeswell, J. A., Dreutter, S., Fremand, A. C., Gallant, D., Hall, J. K., Hehemann, L., Hodnesdal, H., Hong, J., Ivaldi, R., Kane, E., Klaucke, I., Krawczyk, D. W., Kristoffersen, Y., Kuipers, B. R., Millan, R., Masetti, G., Morlighem, M., Noormets, R., Prescott, M. M., Rebesco, M., Rignot, E., Semiletov, I., Tate, A. J., Travaglini, P., Velicogna, I., Weatherall, P., Weinrebe, W., Willis, J. K., Wood, M., Zarayskaya, Y., Zhang, T., Zimmermann, M., and Zinglersen, K. B., 2020, The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean Version 4.0: Scientific Data, v. 7, no. 1, p. 176. Doi: 10.1038/s41597-020-0520-9
7. Hogan, K. A., Jakobsson, M., Mayer, L., Reilly, B., Jennings, A., Mix, A., Nielsen, T., Andresen, K. J., Nørmark, E., Heirmann, K. A., Kamla, E., Jerram, K., and Stranne, C., 2020. Glacial sedimentation, fluxes and erosion rates associated with ice retreat in Petermann Fjord and Nares Strait, NW Greenland: The Cryosphere, v. 2020, v. 14, p. 261–286. Doi: 10.5194/tc-14-261-2020
8. Reilly, B. T., Stoner, J. S., Mix, A. C., Walczak, M. H., Jennings, A., Jakobsson, M., Dyke, L., Glueder, A., Nicholls, K., Hogan, K. A., Mayer, L. A., Hatfield, R. G., Albert, S., Marcott, S., Fallon, S., and Cheseby, M., 2019. Holocene break-up and reestablishment of the Petermann Ice Tongue, Northwest Greenland: Quaternary Science Reviews, v. 218, p. 322–342. Doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.06.023.
9. Jakobsson, M., Hogan, K. A., Mayer, L. A., Mix, A., Jennings, A., Stoner, J., Eriksson, B., Jerram, K., Mohammad, R., Pearce, C., Reilly, B., and Stranne, C., 2018, The Holocene retreat dynamics and stability of Petermann Glacier in northwest Greenland: Nature Communications, v. 9, no. 1, p. 2104. Doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-04573-2
10. Morlighem, M., Williams, C. N., Rignot, E., An, L., Arndt, J. E., Bamber, J. L., Catania, G., Chauché, N., Dowdeswell, J. A., Dorschel, B., Fenty, I., Hogan, K., Howat, I., Hubbard, A., Jakobsson, M., Jordan, T. M., Kjeldsen, K. K., Millan, R., Mayer, L., Mouginot, J., Noël, B. P. Y., O'Cofaigh, C., Palmer, S., Rysgaard, S., Seroussi, H., Siegert, M. J., Slabon, P., Straneo, F., van den Broeke, M. R., Weinrebe, W., Wood, M., and Zinglersen, K. B., 2017, BedMachine v3: Complete Bed Topography and Ocean Bathymetry Mapping of Greenland From Multibeam Echo Sounding Combined With Mass Conservation: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 44, no. 21, p. 11,051–011,061. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL074954