Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Article
  • Published:

Acceleration of snow melt in an Antarctic Peninsula ice core during the twentieth century

Abstract

Over the past 50 years, warming of the Antarctic Peninsula has been accompanied by accelerating glacier mass loss and the retreat and collapse of ice shelves. A key driver of ice loss is summer melting; however, it is not usually possible to specifically reconstruct the summer conditions that are critical for determining ice melt in Antarctic. Here we reconstruct changes in ice-melt intensity and mean temperature on the northern Antarctic Peninsula since AD 1000 based on the identification of visible melt layers in the James Ross Island ice core and local mean annual temperature estimates from the deuterium content of the ice. During the past millennium, the coolest conditions and lowest melt occurred from about AD 1410 to 1460, when mean temperature was 1.6 °C lower than that of 1981–2000. Since the late 1400s, there has been a nearly tenfold increase in melt intensity from 0.5 to 4.9%. The warming has occurred in progressive phases since about AD 1460, but intensification of melt is nonlinear, and has largely occurred since the mid-twentieth century. Summer melting is now at a level that is unprecedented over the past 1,000 years. We conclude that ice on the Antarctic Peninsula is now particularly susceptible to rapid increases in melting and loss in response to relatively small increases in mean temperature.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Location and proxies.
Figure 2: Antarctic Peninsula and West Antarctic Ice Sheet warming.
Figure 3: Antarctic Peninsula climate variability.
Figure 4: Antarctic Peninsula temperature over the past millennium.
Figure 5: Melt response over the past millennium.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Pritchard, H. D., Arthern, R. J., Vaughan, D. G. & Edwards, L. A. Extensive dynamic thinning on the margins of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. Nature 461, 971–975 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Pritchard, H. D. et al. Antarctic ice-sheet loss driven by basal melting of ice shelves. Nature 484, 502–505 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Scambos, T. et al. Ice shelf disintegration by plate bending and hydro-fracture: Satellite observations and model results of the 2008 Wilkins ice shelf break-ups. Earth Plant. Sci. Lett. 280, 51–60 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Scambos, T. A., Hulbe, C., Fahnestock, M. & Bohlander, J. The link between climate warming and break-up of ice shelves in the Antarctic Peninsula. J. Glaciol. 46, 516–530 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Van den Broeke, M. Strong surface melting preceded collapse of Antarctic Peninsula ice shelf. Geophys. Res. Lett. 32, L12815 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Barrand, N. E. et al. Trends in Antarctic Peninsula surface melting conditions from observations and regional climate modelling. J. Geophys. Res.http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2012JF002559 (2013).

  7. Trusel, L. D., Frey, K. E. & Das, S. B. Antarctic surface melting dynamics: Enhanced perspectives from radar scatterometer data. J. Geophys. Res. 117, F02023 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Kuipers Munneke, P., Picard, G., van den Broeke, M. R., Lenaerts, J. T. M. & van Meijgaard, E. Insignificant change in Antarctic snowmelt volume since 1979. Geophys. Res. Lett. 39, L01501 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Hock, R. Temperature index melt modelling in mountain areas. J. Hydrol. 282, 104–115 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Ohmura, A. Physical basis for the temperature-based melt-index method. J App. Meteorol. 40, 753–761 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Cuffey, K. M. & Steig, E. J. Isotopic diffusion in polar firn: Implications for interpretation of seasonal climate parameters in ice-core records, with emphasis on central Greenland. J. Glaciol. 44, 273–284 (1998).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Johnsen, S. J. et al. in Physics of Ice Core Records (ed. Hondoh, T.) 121–140 (Hokkaido Univ. Press, 2000).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Das, S. B. & Alley, R. B. Characterization and formation of melt layers in polar snow: Observations and experiments from West Antarctica. J. Glaciol. 51, 307–312 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Das, S. B. & Alley, R. B. Rise in frequency of surface melting at Siple Dome through the Holocene: Evidence for increasing marine influence on the climate of West Antarctica. J. Geophys. Res. 113, D02112 (2008).

    Google Scholar 

  15. Alley, R. B. & Anandakrishnan, S. Variations in melt-layer frequency in the GISP2 ice core: Implications for Holocene summer temperatures in central Greenland. Ann. Glaciol. 21, 64–70 (1995).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Fisher, D. et al. Recent melt rates of Canadian arctic ice caps are the highest in four millennia. Glob. Plan. Change 84–85, 3–7 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Herron, M. M., Herron, S. L. & Langway, C. C. Jr Climatic signal of ice melt features in southern Greenland. Nature 293, 389–391 (1981).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Abram, N. J., Mulvaney, R. & Arrowsmith, C. Environmental signals in a highly resolved ice core from James Ross Island, Antarctica. J. Geophys. Res. 116, D20116 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Mulvaney, R. et al. Recent Antarctic Peninsula warming relative to Holocene climate and ice-shelf history. Nature 489, 141–144 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Vaughan, D. G. et al. Recent rapid regional climate warming on the Antarctic Peninsula. Climatic Change 60, 243–274 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Cooper, A. P. R. Historical observations of Prince Gustav Ice Shelf. Polar Rec. 33, 285–294 (1997).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Domack, E. et al. Stability of the Larsen B ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula during the Holocene epoch. Nature 436, 681–685 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Pudsey, C. J., Murray, J. W., Appleby, P. & Evans, J. Ice shelf history from petrographic and foraminiferal evidence, Northeast Antarctic Peninsula. Quat. Sci. Rev. 25, 2357–2379 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Cook, A. J., Fox, A. J., Vaughan, D. G. & Ferrigno, J. G. Retreating glacier fronts on the Antarctic Peninsula over the past half-century. Science 308, 541–544 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Kunz, M. et al. Multi-decadal glacier surface lowering in the Antarctic Peninsula. Geophys. Res. Lett. 39, L19502 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Aristarain, A. J., Pinglot, J. F. & Pourchet, M. Accumulation and temperature measurements on the James Ross Island ice cap, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica. J. Glaciol. 33, 357–362 (1987).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Reynolds, J. M. Distribution of mean annual temperatures in the Antarctic Peninsula. Br. Antarct. Surv. Bull. 54, 123–133 (1981).

    Google Scholar 

  28. Tank, K. Daily dataset of 20th-century surface air temperature and precipitation series for the European Climate Assessment. Int. J. Clim. 22, 1441–1453 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Braithwaite, R. J. in Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers (eds Singh, V. P., Singh, P. & Haritashya, U. K.) (Springer, 2011).

    Google Scholar 

  30. Schneider, D. P. & Steig, E. J. Ice cores record significant 1940s Antarctic warmth related to tropical climate variability. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 105, 12154–12158 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Thomas, E. R., Dennis, P. F., Bracegirdle, T. J. & Franzke, C. Ice core evidence for significant 100-year regional warming on the Antarctic Peninsula. Geophys. Res. Lett. 36, L20704 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Ding, Q. H., Steig, E. J., Battisti, D. S. & Kuttel, M. Winter warming in West Antarctica caused by central tropical Pacific warming. Nature Geosci. 4, 398–403 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Schneider, D. P., Deser, C. & Okumura, Y. An assessment and interpretation of the observed warming of West Antarctica in the austral spring. Clim. Dyn. 38, 323–347 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Steig, E. J. et al. Warming of the Antarctic ice-sheet surface since the 1957 International Geophysical Year. Nature 457, 459-U454 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Bromwich, D. H. et al. Central West Antarctica among the most rapidly warming regions on Earth. Nature Geosci. 6, 139–144 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Orsi, A. J., Cornuelle, B. D. & Severinghaus, J. P. Little Ice Age cold interval in West Antarctica: Evidence from borehole temperature at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide. Geophys. Res. Lett. 39, L09710 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Dee, D. P. et al. The ERA-Interim reanalysis: Configuration and performance of the data assimilation system. Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc. 137, 553–597 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Marshall, G. J. Trends in the southern annular mode from observations and reanalyses. J. Clim. 16, 4134–4143 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Fogt, R. L. et al. Historical SAM Variability. Part II: Twentieth-Century Variability and Trends from Reconstructions, Observations, and the IPCC AR4 Models. J. Clim. 22, 5346–5365 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Chaudhuri, P. & Marron, J. S. SiZer for exploration of structure in curves. J. Am. Stat. Assoc. 94, 807–823 (1999).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Zazulie, N., Rusticucci, M. & Solomon, S. Change in climate at high southern latitudes: A unique daily record at Orcadas spanning 1903-2008. J. Clim. 23, 189–196 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Marshall, G. J., Orr, A., van Lipzig, N. P. M. & King, J. C. The impact of a changing Southern Hemisphere Annular Mode on Antarctic Peninsula summer temperatures. J. Clim. 19, 5388–5404 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Thompson, D. W. J. & Solomon, S. Interpretation of recent Southern Hemisphere climate change. Science 296, 895–899 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Marshall, G. J. et al. Causes of exceptional atmospheric circulation changes in the Southern Hemisphere. Geophys. Res. Lett. 31, L14205 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Vaughan, D. G. Recent trends in melting conditions on the Antarctic Peninsula and their implications for ice-sheet mass balance and sea level. Arct. Antarct. Alp. Res. 38, 147–152 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Nye, J. F. Correction factor for accumulation measured by the thickness of the annual layers in an ice sheet. J. Glaciol. 4, 785–788 (1963).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank our colleagues in the field, O. Alemany, S. Foord, S. Shelley and L. Sime, who took part in the ice-core drilling project; the Captain and crew of HMS Endurance who provided logistical support for the drilling field season; S. Foord, N. Lang, J. Levine, L. Sime, R. Röthlisberger, and the Alfred Wegener Institute at Bremerhaven for assistance in the processing of the ice core; and E. Capron, S. Foord and E. Ludlow for laboratory assistance. This study was aided by the use of the KNMI Climate Explorer web resource provided by G. J. van Oldenborgh, and we thank S. Das, H. Pritchard, J. King and C. Krause for helpful discussions during the preparation of the manuscript. This study is part of the British Antarctic Survey Polar Science for Planet Earth Programme, and was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council. Support from the Institut Polaire Français - Paul Emile Victor and the Institut National des Sciences de l’Univers in France, facilitated by J. Chappellaz and F. Vimeux, enabled the technical contribution of the French National Center for Drilling and Coring (INSU/C2FN). N.J.A. is supported by a Queen Elizabeth II fellowship awarded by the Australian Research Council (DP110101161).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

R.M. led the project to drill the ice core, which also involved N.J.A. and J.T.; J.T. and S.K. performed the line-scan measurements and J.T. wrote the Labview software for melt analysis; N.J.A. and J.T. performed the melt layer analysis; N.J.A., R.M., L.F. and C.A. performed the chemical analysis; N.J.A. and R.M. developed the ice-core age scale; L.D.T. provided satellite melt data for JRI; N.J.A. led the data analysis and wrote the paper with contributions from R.M., E.W.W., L.D.T. and F.V.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Nerilie J. Abram or Robert Mulvaney.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Information (PDF 13887 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Abram, N., Mulvaney, R., Wolff, E. et al. Acceleration of snow melt in an Antarctic Peninsula ice core during the twentieth century. Nature Geosci 6, 404–411 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1787

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1787

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing