Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/C519311/1
Constraining Greenland ice sheet mass balance using proxy sea-level records.
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Dr G Milne, Durham University, Earth Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor A Long, Durham University, Geography
- Grant held at:
- Durham University, Earth Sciences
- Science Area:
- Marine
- Earth
- Overall Classification:
- Earth
- ENRIs:
- Global Change
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Science Topics:
- Land - Ocean Interactions
- Quaternary Science
- Glacial & Cryospheric Systems
- Climate & Climate Change
- Abstract:
- During the past ~100 years, mean global sea level has been measured to be rising at a rate that is faster than the rate estimated for the past few thousand years. This accelerated rate of rise is thought to be a consequence of 20 century global warming associated with increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. To determine if this interpretation is correct, it is necessary to properly understand exactly how increasing greenhouse gas levels can produce an Increase in sea-level rise. This is also important if we are to determine how much sea levels will rise in the near future due to the continuing rise in greenhouse gas levels that is expected for the next few hundred years. To determine if and how the recent climate warming caused the accelerated sea-level rise it is important to estimate the processes that contributed to the observed increase in sea-level rise over the past ~100 years. There are many processes that can cause sea-level change due to climate change. The two largest contributors are likely the melting of ice (polar ice sheets and mountain glaciers) and the thermal expansion of ocean water. However, current estimates of the contribution of such processes to sea-level rise in the past ~100 years give a value that is roughly half of that observed. Current research suggests that the reason for this mismatch is an underestimate in the amount of glacial melting. This idea is very hard to test, however, since it is difficult to estimate how much ice sheets and glaciers have melted during the past century - this is especially the case for the large ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland. We aim to address this problem by applying a novel method to estimate how much the Greenland ice sheet has melted in the past century. This method is based on recent computer modelling results that show how ice sheet melting produces rising sea-levels in some areas and falling sea levels in others. The pattern of the sea-level change depends on which parts of the ice sheet melted and which parts grew over a particular period of time. We propose to apply this method to improve our current understanding of how much the Greenland ice sheet has contributed to 20th century sea-level rise. This will involve making new measurements of sea-level changes in Greenland at specific locations and over specific times. By comparing these observations to predictions based on different models of recent changes in the Greenland ice sheet, we will be able to test which models are the most accurate and therefore estimate how much these changes would have contributed to the measured global sea-level rise last century.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/C519311/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Standard Grants Pre FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Standard Grant
This grant award has a total value of £157,471
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - T&S | Total - Staff | Total - Other Costs | Total - Indirect Costs | Total - Equipment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £19,474 | £71,146 | £13,954 | £47,907 | £4,991 |
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