Retreat of Northern Hemisphere Marine-Terminating Glaciers, 2000–2020

Abstract

We mapped the terminus position for every marine-terminating glacier in the Northern Hemisphere for 2000, 2010, and 2020, including the Greenland Ice Sheet, to provide the first complete measure of their variability. In total, these 1,704 glaciers lost an average of 389.7 ± 1.6 km2 a−1 (total 7,527 ± 31 km2) from 2000 to 2020 with 123 glaciers becoming no longer marine-terminating over this period. Overall, 85.3% of glaciers retreated, 2.5% advanced, and the remaining 12.3% did not change outside of uncertainty limits. Outlet glaciers of the Greenland Ice Sheet are responsible for 61.9% of total area loss, although their rate of retreat was 34% less in 2010–2020 than 2000–2010. Glaciers with the largest area loss terminate in ice shelves or ice tongues, are surge-type, have an unstable basal geometry, or have an unusually wide calving margin.