Media Advisory 08-022
Still Images and Video Available: Lakes of Meltwater Can Crack Greenland's Ice and Contribute to Faster Ice-Sheet Flow

Surface lakes of meltwater dot the Greenland Ice Sheet and some drain to bedrock. Credit and Larger Version

April 17, 2008

For video on Betacam SP of the Greenland ice sheet and researchers in the field, contact Dena Headlee (703) 292-7739 / dheadlee@nsf.gov.

In findings embargoed for release on April 17, National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded researchers investigate the role of surface meltwater on the flow of the Greenland Ice Sheet and outlet glaciers.

The research was conducted by glaciologists Sarah Das, of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and Ian Joughin, University of Washington and published in a pair of companion papers in the online journal Science Express this week.

NSF is making available to the news media b-roll video shot on the Greenland ice sheet and still photos, at print resolution, taken by the researchers.

The papers will be printed in Science magazine on May 9. Co-authors of the work include Mark Behn, Dan Lizarralde and Maya Bhatia of WHOI; Ian Howat, Twila Moon, and Ben Smith of UW; and Matt King of Newcastle University.

The research was funded by NSF, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Woods Hole's Clark Arctic Research Initiative, and its Oceans and Climate Change Institute.

-NSF-

Media Contacts
Peter West, NSF (703) 292-7761 pwest@nsf.gov
Sandra Hines, University of Washington (206) 543-2580 shines@u.washington.edu
Michael J Carlowicz, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (508) 289-3771 mcarlowicz@whoi.edu

Program Contacts
William J. Wiseman, NSF (703) 292-4750 wwiseman@nsf.gov

Related Websites
The U.S. government's International Polar Year Web portal: http://www.ipy.gov
Woods Hole Oceans and Climate Change Initiative: http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=7399
The University of Washington's Applied Physics Laboratory: http://www.apl.washington.edu/

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering, with an annual budget of $6.06 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to over 1,900 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 45,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes over 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards over $400 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

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