Iceberg GPS Tracking Can Improve Climate Models - Laboratory Equipment
Iceberg GPS Tracking Can Improve Climate Models
Icebergs as seen from a boat in Ilulissat Icefjord. Credit: Mark Carey
Key points:
- In 2014 and 2019, scientists attached GPS devices to 13 icebergs and tracked hourly changes in position as they passed through Greenland’s Ilulissat Icefjord.
- Circulation in the primary fjord was affected by freshwater flow from connecting tributary fjords, which provides key insight for climate models.
- Understanding the dynamic behavior of ice sheets has trickle-down implications for climate and ecosystems even 2000 miles away.
Warming climate and ocean temperatures have altered the Greenland Ice Sheet, but measuring how water moves around and melts the sheet has been challenging as floating icebergs can destroy equipment. Now, researchers have used a novel approach to unearth new information about the circulation patterns of ocean water around glaciers. Their findings, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, may enhance the accuracy of climate models.
During the summers of 2014 and 2019, scientists attached GPS devices to 13 icebergs and tracked hourly changes in their position as they passed through Greenland’s Ilulissat Icefjord. They found that circulation in the primary fjord was affected by freshwater flow from connecting tributary fjords. The impact of this flow is important for circulation models ranging from studying ocean currents to predicting the speed of sea level rise.
Additionally, these findings will be useful for other research related to fjord circulation, including the transport of material in water. The research team believes having accurate data for predictive models that represent the changing environment is becoming more important as the climate warms.
“Glaciers have reshaped global climate and ecosystems for millions of years,” explained Joan Ferrini-Mundy, president of University of Maine. “Novel research from our world-renowned climate scientists provides more insight into how they interact with their surrounding environments and plays a vital role in predicting our climate future.”
The Greenland Ice sheet, tracked in this study, is always changing and impacting the local and global climate. The behavior of frozen fjords 2,000 miles to the north of Maine can affect New England’s seafood cuisine and coastal storms.
“Everything is interconnected,” said first author Sydney Barrata of UMaine. “Changes happening in the Artic can have trickle-down effects that impact what we see in Maine.”
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”