The Greenland Ice Sheet has lost mass at an accelerating rate over the last two decades, but limits of early remote sensing restricted examination of localized change at an ice‐sheet‐wide scale. We use satellite‐derived ice sheet surface velocities, glacier terminus advance/retreat, and surface elevation change data spanning ~1985–2015 to explore local characteristics of what is now a rapid reconfiguration of the ice sheet coastal margin. Widespread glacier terminus retreat is a more consistent climate response indicator than surface velocities, though local velocity patterns provide indicators of ice flow reconfiguration, including narrowing zones of fast‐flow, ice flow rerouting, and outlet abandonment. The implications of this observed rapid reconfiguration are wide ranging and likely include alteration of subglacial hydrology, iceberg discharge, liquid freshwater flux, potential nutrient and sediment flux, and mass flux. Without detailed observations of earlier deglaciations and with present limits on ice sheet model capabilities, these observational records provide an important analogue for past deglaciation and for projecting future ice loss.

中文翻译：

---

格陵兰冰盖沿海边缘的快速重新配置

在过去的二十年中，格陵兰冰原的质量加速增长，但是早期遥感的局限性限制了在冰原范围内对局部变化的研究。我们使用卫星衍生的冰盖表面速度，冰川终点前进/后退以及1985年至2015年之间的地表高程变化数据，来探索如今正在迅速重新构造冰盖沿海边缘的局部特征。尽管局部速度模式提供了冰流重新配置的指示，包括快速流动的狭窄区域，冰流重新路由和出口放弃，但广泛的冰川终点撤退是比地面速度更一致的气候响应指标。这种观测到的快速重构的含义广泛，可能包括冰下水文学的变化，冰山流量，液态淡水通量，潜在的养分和沉积物通量以及质量通量。由于没有对早期冰川的详细观测，并且对冰盖模型的能力存在当前的限制，这些观测记录为过去的冰消和预测未来的冰损失提供了重要的类似物。