‘Missing Ice Problem’ Finally Solved

Feb 23, 2021

Aerial photo of the Store glacier, West Greenland (uummannaq fjord). Photo: Alfred Wegener Institute / Coen Hofstede

During glacial periods, the sea level falls, because vast quantities of water are stored in the massive inland glaciers. To date, however, computer models have been unable to reconcile sea-level height with the thickness of the glaciers. Using innovative new calculations, a team of climate researchers led by the Alfred Wegener Institute has now managed to explain this discrepancy. Scientists from MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen are also involved. The study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Communications, could significantly advance research into our planet’s climate history.

Original publication:

Evan J. Gowan, Xu Zhang, Sara Khosravi, Alessio Rovere, Paolo Stocchi, Anna L. C Hughes, Richard Gyllencreutz, Jan Mangerud, John-Inge Svendsen, Gerrit Lohmann: A new global ice sheet reconstruction for the past 80 000 years. Nature Communications (2021); DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21469-w

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