{"529301":{"#nid":"529301","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Researchers Discover Fate of Melting Glacial Ice","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EWritten by James Hataway, University of Georgia Public Relations Coordinator \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOver the past several decades, scientists have observed a significant increase in the melting of glacial land ice on the island of Greenland, spurring concerns about global sea level rise and the long-term effects of atmospheric warming. What has been less clear, however, is what happens to this meltwater once it enters the ocean.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow, a team of researchers, which is led by the University of Georgia and includes Georgia Tech scientist Annalisa Bracco, has discovered the fate of much of the fresh water that pours into the surrounding oceans as the Greenland ice sheet melts every summer. They published their findings today in the journal Nature Geoscience.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cUnderstanding the fate of meltwater is important, because research has shown that it can carry a variety of nutrients, which may impact biological production in the ocean,\u201d said Renato Castelao, co-author of the study and associate professor of marine sciences at UGA. \u201cThere is also evidence that large freshwater inputs could alter ocean currents and affect the normal formation of sea ice.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers created a simulation that tracks meltwater runoff under a variety of atmospheric conditions, and they were surprised to discover that most of the meltwater found off the west coast of Greenland actually originated from ice on the east coast.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMeltwater from Greenland is directed by the surrounding ocean currents, but its fate depends on when and where the runoff occurs and the wind fields driving ocean currents,\u201d said UGA Professor Thomas Mote, a co-author of the paper.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to the model, wind and ocean currents often transport meltwater around the southern tip of Greenland on a westward journey that can take upwards of 60 days. After rounding the tip, the meltwater is largely deposited into the Labrador Sea, an arm of the Atlantic between Canada\u2019s Labrador Peninsula and the east coast of Greenland.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech Professor Annalisa Bracco, another co-author of the paper, says the Labrador Sea is a basin of key climate relevance because it\u2019s one of the few places in the world where \u201cdeep water\u201d is formed in the ocean through convection.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn winter, water can mix to depths of 2,000 meters (6,000 ft.) and feed deep ocean currents,\u201d said Bracco, a faculty member in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. \u201cOxygen, nutrients and atmospheric carbon dioxide also mix with the water. If the surface stratification of the ocean changes \u2013 because so much melted water reaches the central Labrador Sea \u2013 convection will be halted, which creates dangerous consequences for the global climate.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMeltwater originating from the west coast of Greenland, on the other hand, is often kept pinned to the coastline by strong winds, which push it northward toward Baffin Bay.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis isn\u2019t always how meltwater from the Greenland ice sheet disperses, as shifts in the prevailing winds can produce very different effects. But scientists must be aware of these shifts in order to fully understand how meltwater will affect the environment, Castelao said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe meltwater that comes from the east coast could have different qualities from the meltwater on the west coast, including different nutrient compositions,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to take the origins of this meltwater into account when we study the effects of ice sheet melt, as it could impact the oceans differently depending on where it comes from.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd this is a problem that is only going to get worse, said Castelao, citing scientific models that suggest the amount of meltwater runoff from Greenland could more than double before the end of this century.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe need to pay careful attention to where melt and runoff is occurring and how it interacts with surrounding ocean currents, in addition to measuring the total amount of melt,\u201d said Mote.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project also includes UGA\u2019s Hao Luo and Patricia Yager, Asa Rennermalm from Rutgers University and Marco Tedesco of Columbia University.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETheir study, \u201cOceanic transport of surface meltwater from the southern Greenland Ice Sheet,\u201d is available at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nature.com\/ngeo\/journal\/vaop\/ncurrent\/full\/ngeo2708.html\u0022 title=\u0022http:\/\/www.nature.com\/ngeo\/journal\/vaop\/ncurrent\/full\/ngeo2708.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.nature.com\/ngeo\/journal\/vaop\/ncurrent\/full\/ngeo2708.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOver the past several decades, scientists have observed a significant increase in the melting of glacial land ice on the island of Greenland, spurring concerns about global sea level rise and the long-term effects of atmospheric warming. What has been less clear, however, is what happens to this meltwater once it enters the ocean. Researchers have now discovered the fate of much of the fresh water that pours into the surrounding oceans as the Greenland ice sheet melts every summer.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Researchers have discovered the fate of much of the fresh water that pours into the surrounding oceans as the Greenland ice sheet melts every summer."}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2016-04-25 16:03:54","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:21:28","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-04-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-04-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"529181":{"id":"529181","type":"image","title":"Labrador Sea","body":null,"created":"1461895200","gmt_created":"2016-04-29 02:00:00","changed":"1475895307","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:07","alt":"Labrador Sea","file":{"fid":"206195","name":"img_3040.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_3040.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_3040.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1546313,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/img_3040.jpg?itok=CoJYodxx"}},"529201":{"id":"529201","type":"image","title":"Georgia Tech visit to Labrador Sea","body":null,"created":"1461895200","gmt_created":"2016-04-29 02:00:00","changed":"1475895307","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:07","alt":"Georgia Tech visit to Labrador Sea","file":{"fid":"206197","name":"img_0125_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_0125_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_0125_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1605186,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/img_0125_0_0.jpg?itok=5FkCFwyl"}},"529251":{"id":"529251","type":"image","title":"Greenland meltwater","body":null,"created":"1461895200","gmt_created":"2016-04-29 02:00:00","changed":"1475895307","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:07","alt":"Greenland meltwater","file":{"fid":"206200","name":"meltwatergreenland2013.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/meltwatergreenland2013.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/meltwatergreenland2013.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2579402,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/meltwatergreenland2013.jpeg?itok=pLOCSv24"}}},"media_ids":["529181","529201","529251"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.o3d.org\/abracco\/","title":"Annalisa Bracco\u0027s research page"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.nature.com\/ngeo\/journal\/vaop\/ncurrent\/full\/ngeo2708.html","title":"Read the study"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"171968","name":"Annalisa Bracco"},{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"171969","name":"Glaciers"},{"id":"791","name":"Global Warming"},{"id":"479","name":"Green Buzz"},{"id":"171970","name":"Greenland"},{"id":"171971","name":"Icebergs"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39541","name":"Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003ENational Media Relations\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maderer@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}