Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4140
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4140
06 Oct 2025
 | 06 Oct 2025
Status: this preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).

Estimating the Thermodynamic Contribution to Recent Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Mass Loss

Jonathon R. Preece, Patrick Alexander, Thomas L. Mote, Gabriel J. Kooperman, Xavier Fettweis, and Marco Tedesco

Abstract. The Greenland Ice Sheet has become the largest single frozen source of global sea level rise following a pronounced increase in meltwater runoff in recent decades. The pivotal role of anomalous anticyclonic circulation patterns in facilitating this increase has been widely documented; however, this change in atmospheric circulation has coincided with a rapidly warming Arctic. While amplified warming at high latitudes has undoubtedly contributed to trends in Greenland's mass loss, the contribution of this shift in background conditions relative to changes in regional circulation patterns has yet to be quantified. Here, we apply the pseudo-global warming method of dynamical downscaling to estimate the contribution of the change in the thermodynamic background state under global warming to observed Greenland Ice Sheet surface mass loss since the turn of the century. Our analysis demonstrates that, had the recent atmospheric dynamical forcing of the Greenland Ice Sheet occurred under a preindustrial setting, anomalous surface mass loss would have been reduced by over 62 % relative to observations. We show that the change in the thermodynamic environment under amplified Arctic warming has augmented melt of the ice sheet via longwave radiative effects accompanying an increase in atmospheric water vapor content. Furthermore, the thermodynamic contribution to surface mass loss over the exceptional melt years of 2012 and 2019 was less than half that of the long-term average, demonstrating a reduced influence during periods of strong synoptic-scale atmospheric forcing.

Competing interests: At least one of the (co-)authors is a member of the editorial board of The Cryosphere.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this paper. While Copernicus Publications makes every effort to include appropriate place names, the final responsibility lies with the authors. Views expressed in the text are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.
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Jonathon R. Preece, Patrick Alexander, Thomas L. Mote, Gabriel J. Kooperman, Xavier Fettweis, and Marco Tedesco

Status: open (until 17 Nov 2025)

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Jonathon R. Preece, Patrick Alexander, Thomas L. Mote, Gabriel J. Kooperman, Xavier Fettweis, and Marco Tedesco

Data sets

Modèle Atmosphérique Régional (MAR) version 3.12 regional climate model pseudo-global warming experiment output, 2000-2019, Greenland domain, 20 kilometer (km) horizontal resolution Jonathon Preece et al. https://arcticdata.io/catalog/view/doi:10.18739/A2TT4FV6W

Jonathon R. Preece, Patrick Alexander, Thomas L. Mote, Gabriel J. Kooperman, Xavier Fettweis, and Marco Tedesco
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Latest update: 06 Oct 2025
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Short summary
Surface melt of the Greenland Ice Sheet has increased dramatically since the turn of the century, aided by an increase in persistent atmospheric circulation patterns that promote anomalously warm conditions. Through modeling experiments, this study shows that surface mass loss would have been reduced by 62% relative to historical conditions if this shift in atmospheric circulation would have occurred in a preindustrial climate, highlighting the important contribution of anthropogenic warming.
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