A new study published in the journal Nature Geoscience has found that cracks in the Greenland Ice Sheet are growing more rapidly due to climate change. Researchers at Durham University, led by Dr. Tom Chudley, used 3D surface maps created from high-resolution satellite imagery to track crevasses on the ice sheet between 2016 and 2021.
The study found significant increases in crevasses’ size and depth at the fast-flowing edges of the ice sheet, with growth rates reaching up to 25% in some areas. This is more rapid than previously detected changes. Crevasses are wedge-shaped fractures that open in glaciers where ice begins to flow faster.
Increased crevassing has the potential to speed up the loss of ice from Greenland. Dr. Tom Chudley explained, “In a warming world, we would expect to see more crevasses forming.” The study’s findings suggest that existing crevasse fields are getting larger and deeper due to climate change, driving the mechanisms behind the loss of ice.
The research team hopes their findings will allow scientists to build the effects of ice damage and crevassing into predictions of the future behavior of the Greenland Ice Sheet. With the ArcticDEM project providing high-resolution digital surface models, researchers can monitor glaciers in Greenland and across the wider Arctic as they continue to respond to climate change.
As one of the fastest-flowing glaciers in Greenland, Sermeq Kujalleq’s flow speed has since begun increasing again, suggesting that the period of balance between crevasse growth and closure on the ice sheet is now over. The study’s results underscore the urgent need for continued research into the impacts of climate change on the world’s largest ice sheets.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2025-01-greenland-ice-sheet-rapidly-response.html