PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Large meltwater accumulation revealed inside Greenland Ice Sheet

A new study unveils a surprising discovery: a substantial amount of meltwater is temporarily stored within the Greenland Ice Sheet during summer months

Large meltwater accumulation revealed inside Greenland Ice Sheet
2024-10-30
(Press-News.org)

A new study published in Nature unveils a surprising discovery: a substantial amount of meltwater is temporarily stored within the Greenland Ice Sheet during summer months. For the first time, an international group of researchers was able to quantify meltwater with positioning data. The finding challenges current models of how ice sheets contribute to global sea level rise.

The Greenland Ice Sheet is currently the largest single contributor to global sea-level rise, with the potential to raise the mean sea level by up to seven meters if it fully melts. While scientists have long studied the melt processes of the ice sheet, one crucial question has remained unanswered: how does meltwater storage evolve within the ice sheet throughout the summer melt season? A new approach provides an unprecedented view into the movement and storage of meltwater.
"During the melt season, we found that a significant fraction of meltwater mass is stored temporarily within the ice sheet," says Jiangjun Ran, associate professor at Southern University of Science and Technology. "This water buffering effect peaks in July and slowly recedes in the following weeks."

Novel approach to water monitoring
"Understanding how water is stored and released within the ice sheet has always been a challenge," says Pavel Ditmar, associate professor at Delft University of Technology. The team has utilised data from the Greenland GPS Network (GNET). The network consists of several tens of stations around Greenland that continuously provide positioning data. The team developed an innovative method that interprets the detected vertical displacements of the bedrock. These displacements are caused, among other, by the mass of melting water, pushing the bedrock down.

Implications for climate models
This discovery will help improve climate models, which often underestimate the complexity of water storage within ice sheets. Especially during warmer years, models that predict water runoff towards the ocean may easily underestimate that process. The study finds that these models could require scaling adjustments of up to 20% for the warmest years. "These findings are crucial for improving forecasts of the Greenland Ice Sheet's contribution to future sea-level rise," says Michiel van den Broeke, professor at Utrecht University. "With climate change making the Arctic warmer than ever, accurate predictions are essential for preparing coastal regions for potential sea-level rise."

Years in the making

The study has taken years of preparation and required difficult expeditions to some of the most remote areas of the planet. "The work we've done not only improves our understanding of ice sheet dynamics but also opens the door to new measurement techniques and campaigns," says Shfaqat Abbas Khan, professor at the Technical University of Denmark. The study highlights the importance of international collaboration in addressing one of the planet's most pressing environmental challenges.

The study was published on Oct. 30, 2024 in Nature: Vertical bedrocks shifts reveal summer water storage in Greenland ice sheet. Jiangjun Ran, Pavel Dimar, Michiel R. van den Broeke, Lin Liu, Roland Klees, Shfaqat Abbas Khan, Twila Moon, Jiancheng Li, Michael Bevis, Min Zhong, Xavier Fettweis, Junguo Liu, Brice Noël, C.K.Shum, Jianli Chen, Liming Jiang & Tonie van Dam.

END


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Large meltwater accumulation revealed inside Greenland Ice Sheet Large meltwater accumulation revealed inside Greenland Ice Sheet 2

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Ancient DNA brings to life history of the iconic aurochs, whose tale is intertwined with climate change and human culture

Ancient DNA brings to life history of the iconic aurochs, whose tale is intertwined with climate change and human culture
2024-10-30
Geneticists from Trinity College Dublin, together with an international team of researchers, have deciphered the prehistory of aurochs – the animals that were the focus of some of the most iconic early human art – by analysing 38 genomes harvested from bones dating across 50 millennia and stretching from Siberia to Britain.  The aurochs roamed in Europe, Asia and Africa for hundreds of thousands of years. Adorned as paintings on many a cave wall, their domestication to create cattle gave us a harnessed source of muscle, meat and milk. Such ...

Reversing environmental decline: Lessons from African communities

Reversing environmental decline: Lessons from African communities
2024-10-30
In rural Africa, where livelihoods are often tied directly to the land, environmental degradation poses a critical threat to both ecosystems and people’s well-being. New research reveals ways to tackle the dual challenges of land degradation and poverty. In rural Africa, where livelihoods are often tied directly to the land, environmental degradation poses a critical threat to both ecosystems and people’s well-being. A new study co-authored by researchers at Stanford University and the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) analyzes how ...

'Black box' of stem cell transplants opened in world-first blood study

2024-10-30
For the first time, scientists have tracked what happens to stem cells decades after a transplant, lifting the lid on the procedure that has been a medical mystery for over 50 years. Insights could pave the way for new strategies in donor selection and transplant success, potentially leading to safer, more effective transplants.  Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and their collaborators at the University of Zurich were able to map the behaviour of stem cells in recipients’ bodies up to three decades post-transplant, ...

New pathway for sensing cold temperatures identified in rice

2024-10-30
A gene called COLD6 contributes to cold tolerance in rice, potentially offering a pathway to use molecular design to breed a rice variety with higher resistance to cold stress. This work appears October 30 in the Cell Press journal Molecular Cell. “Cold damage is a major challenge in rice production, and identifying key gene modules in signalling pathways is a crucial step in addressing this issue,” says senior study author Kang Chong of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. “Our research focused on uncovering the molecular mechanism behind crops’ response to cold stress. We hope to ...

Study identifies how ovarian cancer protects itself, paves way for improved immunotherapy approach

Study identifies how ovarian cancer protects itself, paves way for improved immunotherapy approach
2024-10-30
New York, NY [October 30, 2024]—Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have discovered a way that ovarian cancer tumors manipulate their environment to resist immunotherapy and identified a drug target that could overcome that resistance. The study, published in the October 30 online issue of Cell [DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.10.006], used a cutting-edge spatial genomics technology and preclinical animal models, with tumor specimens from ovarian cancer patients further validating the findings. The researchers found that ovarian cancer cells produce a molecule called Interleukin-4 (IL-4), which is typically ...

State policies regulating law enforcement access to prescription drug monitoring program testosterone prescription data

2024-10-30
About The Study: This study found that testosterone prescription data through prescription drug monitoring programs was accessible to law enforcement without basic safeguards (such as a warrant or subpoena) in nearly half of states. The ease of access to this sensitive medical information raises privacy, care quality, and civil liberties concerns, especially amid the proliferation of gender-affirming care bans. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Katie McCreedy, MPH, email mccreedy.k@northeastern.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2024.20035) Editor’s ...

Validation of the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire in patients with tricuspid regurgitation

2024-10-30
About The Study: In this cohort study, the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) had strong psychometric properties in patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation, including reliability, responsiveness, and validity. These data support use of the KCCQ in patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation as a measure of their symptoms, function, and quality of life and also for assessing the impact of interventions, such as transcatheter tricuspid valve intervention, in rigorously controlled trials.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding ...

New study shows combination therapy slows cognitive decline in at-risk populations

2024-10-30
An important new study led by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), and with partnership across several Toronto Dementia Research Alliance (TDRA) sites— Baycrest, Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, Unity Health Toronto, and University Health Network— has demonstrated that a combination therapy can slow cognitive decline in older adults at risk for dementia. The study was published today in JAMA Psychiatry: "Slowing cognitive decline in major depressive disorder and mild cognitive ...

Slowing cognitive decline in major depressive disorder and mild cognitive impairment

2024-10-30
About The Study: This study showed that cognitive remediation and transcranial direct current stimulation, both targeting the prefrontal cortex, is efficacious in slowing cognitive decline in older adults at risk of cognitive decline, particularly those with remitted major depressive disorder (with or without mild cognitive impairment) and in those at low genetic risk for Alzheimer disease.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding authors, email Benoit H. Mulsant, MD, MS, (benoit.mulsant@utoronto.ca) and Tarek K. Rajji, MD, (tarek.rajji@utsouthwestern.edu) To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2024.3241) Editor’s ...

Autism diagnosis among US children and adults

2024-10-30
About The Study: In this cross-sectional study of children and adults in the U.S., autism spectrum disorder diagnosis rates increased substantially between 2011 and 2022, particularly among young adults, female children and adults, and children from some racial or ethnic minority groups. Diagnosis prevalence trends generated using health system data can inform the allocation of resources to meet the service needs of this growing, medically complex population. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Luke P. Grosvenor, PhD, email luke.p.grosvenor@kp.org. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.42218) Editor’s ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Semaglutide and tirzepatide in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

Changes in biology of internal fat may be the leading cause of heart failure

Transcatheter or surgical treatment of patients with aortic stenosis at low to intermediate risk

Promising new drug for people with stubborn high blood pressure

One shot of RSV vaccine effective against hospitalization in older adults for two seasons

Bivalent RSV prefusion F protein–based vaccine for preventing cardiovascular hospitalizations in older adults

Clonal hematopoiesis and risk of new-onset myocarditis and pericarditis

Risk of myocarditis or pericarditis with high-dose vs standard-dose influenza vaccine

High-dose vs standard-dose influenza vaccine and cardiovascular outcomes in older adults

Prevalence, determinants, and time trends of cardiovascular health in the WHO African region

New study finds that, after a heart attack, women have worse prognosis when treated with beta-blockers

CNIC-led REBOOT clinical trial challenges 40-year-old standard of care for heart attack patients

Systolic blood pressure and microaxial flow pump–associated survival in infarct-related cardiogenic shock

Beta blockers, the standard treatment after a heart attack, may offer no benefit for heart attack patients and women can have worse outcomes

High Mountain Asia’s shrinking glaciers linked to monsoon changes

All DRII-ed up: How do plants recover after drought?

Research on stigma says to just ‘shake it off’

Scientists track lightning “pollution” in real time using NASA satellite

Millions of women rely on contraceptives, but new Rice study shows they may do more than just prevent pregnancy

Hot days make for icy weather, Philippine study finds

Roxana Mehran, MD, receives the most prestigious award given by the European Society of Cardiology

World's first clinical trial showing lubiprostone aids kidney function

Capturing language change through the genes

Public trust in elections increases with clear facts

Thawing permafrost raised carbon dioxide levels after the last ice age

New DNA test reveals plants’ hidden climate role

Retinitis pigmentosa mouse models reflect pathobiology of human RP59

Cell’s ‘antenna’ could be key to curing diseases

Tiny ocean partnership between algae and bacteria reveals secrets of evolution

Scientists uncover cellular “toolkit” to reprogram immune cells for cancer therapy

[Press-News.org] Large meltwater accumulation revealed inside Greenland Ice Sheet
A new study unveils a surprising discovery: a substantial amount of meltwater is temporarily stored within the Greenland Ice Sheet during summer months