Greenland Ice Melting Faster Than Before

The rate of Greenland ice melt has accelerated vastly over the past ten years, a new study states.  Published by the Science journal, the study adds that the result of this melt is that the ice cap is contributing more and more to rising sea levels.  Should the whole ice sheet disappear, sea levels around the world could be expected to rise by as much as seven metres. 

In general, global sea levels are currently increasing by approximately three millimetres annually.  The rise is linked, in the main, to the way the sea is expanding in line with temperature increases.

Greenland Ice Melt

The Greenland ice melt has been especially progressive over the past three years, head study researcher, Dutch scientist Michiel van den Broeke, states.  “Since 2000, there's clearly been an accelerating loss of mass”, he says, adding: “But we've had three very warm summers, and that's enhanced the melt considerably.”

“If this is going to continue, I cannot tell - but we do of course expect the climate to become warmer in the future.”

Greenland Ice Loss

The continuous loss of Greenland and Arctic ice is an issue that scientists and researchers around the world remain focused on, due to the potential devastation that their projected disappearance (and consequent effect on the seas) could wreak on a number of cities.  Two years ago, the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) issued a report in which it forecast that sea levels would have increased by 43 centimetres by 2099.  It conceded, however, that a lack of true scientific insight into the issue meant its predictions were more than likely on the conservative side.

The new Science study, though, is already being heralded as a more advanced take on the ice loss scenario.

“I think it's a very significant paper; the results in it are certainly very significant and new”, Colorado University’s World Data Center director, Roger Barry, comments.  “It does show that the trend has accelerated, and the reported contribution to sea level rise also shows a significant acceleration - so if you multiply these numbers up, it puts us well beyond the IPCC estimates for 2100.”

See also:

Climate Change Could Alter Earth's Gravity