WP4 Global effects of Greenland melting

Personnel: Kristin Richter(NORCE), Andreas Born (UiB).  Natalya Gomez  (UiB/McGill), Kerim  H. Nisancioglu (UiB)

Using a suite of global and regional models, we will address the sensitivities of the fjord circulation, the dynamic response of the tidewater glacier, and how different plausible future scenarios of Greenland mass loss impact global sea level and its regional variability. This work will be informed by the findings and needs of the other work packages while at the same time providing valuable process understanding and robust projections of future changes, including an assessment of uncertainty, that will be useful for the dialog with local communities in Fiji and Greenland. 

Jakobshavn Isbræ is chosen as the key study area for ClimateNarratives. There is extensive work both in the fjords and on the glacier over recent years. At the same time, there the city of Ilulissat (satellite picture from https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/)
Observed patterns of sea level change from GRACE satellite observations, 2002-2014 (NASA/UCI, 2017). Note the relatively large impact of current sea level changes in the tropical and southwest Pacific. A significant contribution to this comes from the Greenland ice sheet (where sea level locally drops due to gravitational effect and uplifting land associated with the ice loss). As the land rises on the coast of Greenland, the sea rises in the tropics.