I may just have overlooked this before but think for anybody wondering why this glacier is worth keeping an eye on, have a look at the bedrock elevation map in http://glacierchange.wordpress.com/2012/08/27/zachariae-isstrom-further-retreat-ne-greenland/
This made clear to me why Espen thinks that here is a major outlet for the Greenland Ice Sheet.
I have, perhaps, another important reason why we should be concerned about many of the larger sea terminating glaciers in Greenland. We always use the term "bedrock" when describing the topography under these glaciers. I believe this is a potentially highly inaccurate description of the areas where these glaciers are grounded.
We know that the Humboldt Glacier releases large amounts of silt during its episodic upwellings. Bedrock should not, I believe, release so much silt during these periodic releases of melt water.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenpeaceusa09/3830848485/#I suspect these relatively large yet low areas of elevation under the sea terminating glaciers are more likely to have the characteristics of glacial moraines, material that has been scoured from the interior of Greenland and deposited. The large moraines deposited across North America as the ice sheets retreated at the end of the last ice age are a mix of boulders, gravel, sand and other loose materials. Attached is a map of the major moraines in North America.
As seen on this topography map of Ohio, large ice sheets can deposit moraines with elevations of 1000 feet or more when they retreat. Aren't the ice sheets on Greenland thicker than the ice sheets that covered North America? If so the material scoured and deposited would likewise be larger.
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/portals/10/pdf/sem_tone.pdfThe moraines are very prone to erosion and I think this could very well be the fate of these elevated areas that we call "bedrock". They are nothing of the sort. As melt water continues to find its way to the bottom of these large sea terminating glaciers, these elevated areas will erode and wash into the sea. This altered topography will reveal the true nature of the seas connections to the interior of Greenland, wide and shallow plains terminating in shallow estuaries as the rivers reach the sea.