Narwhals document atlantification of East Greenland

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By Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen  et al, Science. 

Excerpt: To resolve temperature and salinity changes in remote East Greenland coastal waters, including deep glacier-front basins, we equipped narwhals (Monodon monoceros) with conductivity-temperature-depth archival instruments. These data, combined with the World Ocean Database, reveal long-term warming of Atlantic Intermediate Water (AIW) penetrating East Greenland’s coastal system. ...Elevated summer iceberg discharge coincides with higher temperatures and salinities below 200 meters, indicating an intensified AIW influence. These observations show that warming AIW delivers heat directly to glacier fronts, promoting submarine melt and accelerating glacier mass loss.... 

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