North Atlantic warming and the retreat of Greenland's outlet glaciers. - Straneo and Heimbach (2013)

Flashcards reviewing key facts from lecture notes on Greenland's ice sheet, North Atlantic warming, and tropical cyclones.

How much did Mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet increase?

From 1992-2001 to 2002-2011, contributing to a rise in global mean sea level.

What is responsible for the decrease in surface mass balance?

Changes in precipitation and rising air temperatures.

What has been correlated to changes in coastal air temperatures?

Changes in sea-surface temperatures around Greenland.

What leads to an increase in submarine melting of the glaciers?

Warming of the subpolar North Atlantic (SPNA) ocean and atmosphere.

What is the circulation around the SPNA?

A cyclonic (anticlockwise) gyre.

What is an ice mélange?

A mixture of icebergs and sea ice found in front of the terminus of many Greenland glaciers that may affect calving.

What are the fjord properties that influence submarine melt rates?

Warm waters, its stratification and its circulation.

What is SPNA warming largely due to?

Increased inflow of warm, subtropical waters into the subpolar region.

What are the 2 main perceived effects of Greenland's ice sheet mass loss on the climate system?

Sea-level change and the impact of surface freshening on the AMOC.

What innovations are required to allow the collection of observations that are not at present possible?

To quantify submarine melting and to understand the dominant controls on calving.

What is glacier speed-up indicative of?

Atmospheric and oceanic warming.

What adaptive strategies can mitigate shoreline flooding impacts?

Careful stewardship of sediments and reductions in human-induced land subsidence.

Which basin has been the most prolific tropical cyclone basin over the instrumental record?

Western North Pacific.

Which two of the least active tropical cyclone basins held the majority of economic or human losses from tropical cyclones, respectively?

North Atlantic and North Indian Ocean.

Rising sea levels will become a dominant driver of increased tropical cyclone flooding irrespective of what?

Changes in tropical cyclone activity.

What factors relating to individual cyclones greatly influence storm surges?

Wind speed, storm size, and landfall location.

What do future flood projection studies have in common?

They all point to a clear increase in flood frequency associated with an accelerating SLR, regardless of tropical cyclone climatology projections.

What will further amplify tropical cyclone flooding?

Rapid land subsidence.

What partly drives the length of recovery time that coastal systems have between storm disruptions?

Tropical cyclone climatology.

The configuration and current function of most modern low-gradient shorelines only established themselves after a significant decline in global SLR rates, beginning around 9,000 to 6,000 years ago, after what?

The Holocene transgression.