Cornell geologists, examining the desolate Vavilov ice cap on the northern fringe of Siberia in the Arctic Circle, have for the first time observed the rapid ice loss from an improbable new river of ice, according to new work in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
Observing the ice cap over a period of years, the researchers thought they were seeing a glacial surge, a temporary condition in which snow buildup ebbs and flows over long time scales.
But in this area of the world that is frozen for most of the year, that glacial surge grew faster, wider and fanned out. Having shed nearly 11% of its mass – or 9.5 billion tons of ice since 2013, it may become a more-permanent, impactful ice stream, researchers say.
“This is the first documented case of an ice stream being formed. We really didn’t expect to see this,” said lead author Whyjay Zheng, Cornell doctoral student. Now, after about six years of study, the stream resembles a triangular-shaped fan, bordered by dark-shaded crevasses. At the wide center channel, the stream ice flows at a relatively high speed – around 3 miles per year.
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