“A candle burning from both ends” is a fitting metaphor for the high melt rates RESPONDER reported from beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet. The metaphor comes from News & Views featured in Nature Climate Change. The article picks up on the fact that the melt rates we observed at the base of Store Glacier are one to two orders of magnitude larger than what was previously expected over grounded ice sheets, including the ice sheet in Antarctica as well as the one in Greenland.
“Larger bottom melt rates will substantially change the structure of the subglacial hydrologic network, favouring rivers rather than creeks or flow through sediments. This faster melt also allows for additional lubrication and thus decreases the friction of the ice–bed interface, which could contribute to faster glacier flow.” wrote Helene Seroussi and Colin Mayer. Thank you for highlighting our work.