What To Know
- The Greenland ice sheet is melting at an alarming rate, contributing to rising sea levels and altering global weather patterns.
- The impact of climate change on Greenland’s ice sheetUnder the influence of anthropogenic climate change, the Greenland ice sheet has been melting since 1998, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
- An international team led by researchers from the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM) in the UK has, for the first time today, quantified these changes in a study published in Geophysical Research Letters.
The Greenland ice sheet is melting at an alarming rate, contributing to rising sea levels and altering global weather patterns. Scientists have utilized satellite data to illustrate this rapid transformation in a short video.
the impact of climate change on Greenland’s ice sheet
Under the influence of anthropogenic climate change, the Greenland ice sheet has been melting since 1998, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This melting is the second-largest contributor to rising sea levels, with the primary factor being the thermal expansion of water as ocean temperatures increase.
However, the implications extend beyond sea-level rise. The melting of Greenland’s ice has profound effects on global ocean circulation and weather conditions worldwide. These changes significantly impact communities reliant on fishing and hunting and disrupt local ecosystems, affecting species such as polar bears that lose resting habitats.
advanced satellite missions reveal startling data
To assess these changes accurately, scientists rely on data from two complementary missions: CryoSat by the European Space Agency (ESA) and ICESat-2 by NASA. CryoSat’s radar system can penetrate clouds and measure ground surface height while ICESat-2’s lasers reflect off actual surfaces but do not work through clouds.
An international team led by researchers from the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM) in the UK has, for the first time today, quantified these changes in a study published in Geophysical Research Letters. They reveal that between 2010 and 2023, the Greenland ice sheet thinned by an average of 1.2 meters.
- In areas where summer melt exceeds winter snowfall, thinning averages around 6.4 meters.
dramatic thinning at coastal glaciers
The thinning is even more dramatic at coastal glaciers within the ice sheet. For instance:
- At Sermeq Kujalleq (Jakobshavn Isbræ) in central-western Greenland, thinning reached 67 meters.
- Zachariae Isstrøm in northeastern Greenland experienced thinning up to 75 meters.
Overall, researchers report a reduction of no less than 2,347 cubic kilometers in ice volume—equivalent to Lake Victoria’s water capacity.
synchronizing satellite data for precise measurements
The adjustment of CryoSat’s orbit to synchronize with ICESat-2 allowed nearly simultaneous radar and laser data collection over identical regions. This innovation facilitates unprecedentedly precise measurement of snow depth and marine and terrestrial ice from space.
The complementary nature of these missions strongly motivates combining datasets for improved estimates of volume and mass variations within the ice sheet. Given that mass loss from the ice sheet is a critical factor globally influencing sea-level rise—and disrupting ecosystems and weather conditions—these insights are invaluable for both scientific communities and policymakers.Nitin Ravinder, a researcher at CPOM, emphasizes its importance in an ESA statement.
