title: Surface melt-induced acceleration of Greenland ice-sheet flow.
abstract: Ice flow at a location in the equilibrium zone of the west-central Greenland Ice Sheet accelerates above the midwinter average rate during periods of summer melting. The near coincidence of the ice acceleration with the duration of surface melting, followed by deceleration after the melting ceases, indicates that glacial sliding is enhanced by rapid migration of surface meltwater to the ice-bedrock interface. Interannual variations in the ice acceleration are correlated with variations in the intensity of the surface melting, with larger increases accompanying higher amounts of summer melting. The indicated coupling between surface melting and ice-sheet flow provides a mechanism for rapid, large-scale, dynamic responses of ice sheets to climate warming.
authors.affiliation: Oceans and Ice Branch, Code 971, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA. jay.zwally@gsfc.nasa.gov
authors.forename: H Jay
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Zwally
authors.forename: Waleed
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Abdalati
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Herring
authors.forename: Kristine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Larson
authors.forename: Jack
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Saba
authors.forename: Konrad
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Steffen