But now, according to satellite images, a big piece of that Greenland
coastal ice suddenly vanished or was reduced to floating bits and slush.
Since then, Labrador's
coastal ice has declined by almost 40 percent, making travel treacherous, if possible at all.
Given the continent's surface area, this could in fact offset the loss of
coastal ice and thus drastically reduce the ice continent's contribution to the rising sea level.
In particular, it would be valuable to improve our understanding of
coastal ice mobility and projections of freeze-up and breakup dates (and length of the open water season) as a function of regional climate projections.
Caption: Warming may threaten both Antarctica's
coastal ice shelves and the glaciers behind them.
To improve our understanding of ice-land interaction, first-order mathematical models are presented for the analyses of the evolution of the
coastal ice zone.
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Coastal ice shelves (portions of the ice sheet that hang out over the oceans) buttress the seaward flow of ice from the continent, but geological history suggests a drastic change is possible.
Bespoke adventures on the trip include kite skiing, rock and ice climbing, abseiling into crevasses, 4x4 adventures to the
coastal ice barrier or to one of the science bases, a flight to the South Pole as well as access to a 12,000-strong colony of fearless emperor penguins and their hatchlings -- one of the most rarely seen wildlife events on the planet.
In the towns of Shishmaref and Newtok, melting
coastal ice and permafrost have caused erosion and flooding.
"In 2005, we had summer melting occurring inland as well as over the
coastal ice shelves, and over areas up to 2500 metres above sea level," said Tedesco.
The expedition's mission is to hug the path of open water, called the "flaw lead," between the central sea ice pack--the ice that builds up and moves south from the Polar Ice Cap--and the
coastal ice, a place particularly sensitive to environmental changes.
Beach width (the distance between the lake edge and the foredune) was measured in meters and the presence of any
coastal ice was recorded.