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AGU: Geophysical Research Letters

 

Keywords

  • anthropogenic CO2 emissions
  • climate-ice sheet modeling
  • Greenland

Index Terms

  • Global Change: Cryospheric change
  • Paleoceanography: Anthropogenic effects
  • Global Change: Impacts of global change
  • Cryosphere: Ice shelves
  • Global Change: Earth system modeling

Abstract

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 35, L12503, 5 PP., 2008
doi:10.1029/2008GL033472

Amount of CO2 emissions irreversibly leading to the total melting of Greenland

S. Charbit

Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, UMR 1572, IPSL, CEA, CNRS, UVSQ, Gif-sur-Yvette, France

D. Paillard

Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, UMR 1572, IPSL, CEA, CNRS, UVSQ, Gif-sur-Yvette, France

G. Ramstein

Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, UMR 1572, IPSL, CEA, CNRS, UVSQ, Gif-sur-Yvette, France

The long-term response of Greenland to anthropogenic warming is of critical interest for the magnitude of the sea-level rise and for climate-related concerns. To explore its evolution over several millennia we use a climate-ice sheet model forced by a range of CO2 emission scenarios, accounting for the natural removal of anthropogenic CO2 from the atmosphere. Above 3000 GtC, the melting appears irreversible, while below 2500 GtC, Greenland only experiences a partial melting followed by a re-growth phase. Delaying emissions through sequestration slows significantly the melting, but has only a limited impact on the ultimate fate of Greenland. Its behavior is therefore mostly dependent on the cumulative CO2 emissions. This study demonstrates that the fossil fuel emissions of the next century will have dramatic consequences on sea-level rise for several millennia.

Received 30 January 2008; accepted 7 May 2008; published 26 June 2008.

Citation: Charbit, S., D. Paillard, and G. Ramstein (2008), Amount of CO2 emissions irreversibly leading to the total melting of Greenland, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L12503, doi:10.1029/2008GL033472.

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