The ice sheets on Greenland and Antarctica comprise about 99% of the total ice volume on Earth. If the ice sheets were to melt completely, the sea level could rise by more than 65 meters. Over the past ice ages, the ice sheets have shaped our global environment like no other force. The ice sheets also play a vital role in global climate processes. They keep our planet cool naturally, as the ice surface reflects most of the incoming solar radiation directly back into space. At the same time, the ice sheets are highly sensitive to even small changes in climate. Therefore, they are considered tipping elements of the Earth system. The consequences of “tipping” would be drastic and irreversible and with serious consequences for human society. It is therefore particularly important to investigate how the ice sheets change due to global warming. In the Ice Dynamics Group at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, we study the physical processes and changes of ice sheets and ice shelves and their interactions with the atmosphere and ocean, as well as with the solid Earth – from the deep past to the future. Our team is developing the Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM) and the Potsdam Ice-Shelf Cavity Model (PICO). We investigate the long-term stability of the ice sheets on Greenland and Antarctica and their contribution to future global sea level changes based on our knowledge of ice sheet dynamics.
Key scientific goals
- Comprehensive understanding of important ice dynamic processes, such as sub-shelf melting, changes in ice sheet mass balance, iceberg calving, or ice-shelf buttressing
- Reconstruction / modeling of the glacial-interglacial history of the Antarctic Ice Sheet
- Projections of the future sea-level contribution from Greenland and Antarctica
- Assessment of long-term stability, critical thresholds and tipping dynamics of the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets
Methods
- Numerical modeling using high-performance computers, ensemble simulations
- Development of the Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM) and the Potsdam Ice-Shelf Cavity Model (PICO)
- Interactive coupling with global ocean models, as well as with models of glacial isostatic rebound and relative sea-level change
Working group leader
Prof. Dr. Ricarda Winkelmann, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, University of Potsdam
Websites
Ice Dynamics working group at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Projects we are involved in
PalMod
From the Last Interglacial to the Anthropocene – Modeling a Complete Glacial Cycle
VAST
Vulnerability of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to a changing thermocline (SPP 1158)
ICE-MOC
Feedbacks between the Greenland and Antarctic ICE sheets via the Meridional Overturning Circulation and relative sea-level (SPP 1158)
GIS-TIP
Rapid Ice Dynamics in Greenland
GEOLQUEA
Glacial and erosional contributions to Late Quaternary uplift of the European Alps
X-MELT
Impact of extreme melt events on the future mass balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet
TiPACCs
Tipping Points in Antarctic Climate Components
PROTECT
Projecting Sea-Level Rise: from Ice Sheets to Local Implications
OCEAN:ICE
Ocean Cryosphere Exchanges in ANtarctica: Impacts on Climate and the Earth System