Mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated in the past two decades, partly due to glacier speedup. This study used in-situ measurements at 11 historical locations in West Greenland to detect inland changes, revealing a 5–15% increase in ice velocities and a 3–4.5° northward deflection in flow azimuth. The appearance of large transverse crevasses suggests a fundamental shift in local ice dynamics. Creep instability, a coincident warming and softening of near-bed ice layers, is proposed as a potential explanation for the observed acceleration and rotation.

Anja Løkkegaard, William Colgan, Karina Hansen, Kisser Thorsøe, Jakob Jakobsen, Shfaqat Abbas Khan