City scientists in ice sheet climate find

FORECASTING of sea levels could become more accurate, thanks to a fresh discovery about how melting ice in the summer affects the movement of glaciers

Scientists from Edinburgh University studying the Greenland ice sheet have revealed a close link between ice movement and summer ice melt.

In summer, surface meltwater drains to the bed of the ice sheet, enabling it to slide quickly towards the sea.

If summers continue to become longer and warmer, glacier acceleration caused by meltwater will reach further inland, drawing down ice from a larger area of the ice sheet.

Researchers say this ice movement, which is similar to that found in Alpine glaciers, demonstrates that the ice sheet is highly sensitive to changes in climate.

The study will give scientists more information to help improve predictions of sea level rise in response to climate change.

Dr Peter Nienow, of Edinburgh University's School of GeoSciences, said: "We now have a better understanding of how the ice sheet responds dynamically to changes in air temperature."