Climate change is leading to faster ice melting in Greenland than has been shown previously. A whopping 30 million tonnes of ice per hour is 20 per cent more than what has previously been seen.
This finds a new study, published in the journal Nature Wednesday.
Almost every glacier in Greenland has thinned or retreated during the last decades, which has led to increased sea level rise and climate impacts around the world, the researchers behind the study conclude.
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To make a long story short
- The ice in Greenland is melting faster than previously thought, at a rate of 30 million tonnes per hour, according to a new study published in Nature.
- Almost all glaciers in Greenland have thinned or retreated in recent decades, which has led to global climate impacts.
- The study shows that Greenland has lost an area of around 5,000 square kilometers of ice since 1985.
- Scientists are concerned that the extra fresh water flowing into the sea will cause the ocean currents in the Atlantic to collapse.
Sea view
Large areas
In the study, the researchers looked at satellite images of Greenland’s glaciers, taken monthly from 1985 to 2022. A total of one trillion tonnes of ice has disappeared from Greenland, the study finds.
The study finds that Greenland has lost an area of around 5,000 square kilometers of ice since 1985.
– The changes around Greenland are enormous and they are happening everywhere – almost all glaciers have retreated during the last decades, says Chad Greene, at NASA in the USA, according to the British newspaper The Guardian. He led the research.
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Climate researcher Tore Furevik has looked at the study for Dagbladet. He finds it interesting.
– They have found that more ice has melted than previously thought. It is important to get better measurements of how much melts in total in order to understand how the climate system is affected by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, says Furevik, who is director of the Nansen Center.
Withdraw
What is new about the recent study is that the researchers have looked at how much the front of the various glacier arms have retreated. They have done this by analyzing 235,000 satellite images.
– It has been known for a long time that the glacier arms have retreated, but now they have analyzed the whole of Greenland. The previous estimates did not take into account how much these glacier arms have retreated.
The ice in the fjords displaces water, so when this melts, it does not exactly contribute to a rise in sea level, explains the Nansen director.
AFFECTS EVERYONE: Virtually all the glaciers in Greenland will be affected by climate change. Photo: Shutterstock / NTB Show more
Scientists are concerned that the extra fresh water flowing into the sea will cause the ocean currents in the Atlantic to collapse. These ocean currents are called Amoc (Atlantic meridional overturning circulation) weakened by the fresh water. Ocean currents are now at their weakest in 1,600 years.
Affects ocean currents
The researchers write that there is a concern that the supply of fresh water at one point could be a “tipping point” – which could lead to a complete collapse of the ocean currents in the Atlantic Ocean. This can disrupt global weather patterns, ecosystems and global food security.
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Study author Greene emphasizes that he cannot say how much the ocean currents in the Atlantic Ocean.
The AMOC includes the total amount of cold water that sinks in the north and that flows back into the deep. The Gulf Stream contributes to this.
– By adding fresh water, the water becomes less heavy and will then have more difficulty sinking down, explains climate researcher Furevik.
– Is it dramatic if the AMOC changes?
– Should one get a rapid change, or a collapse that some are afraid of, then it will be quite dramatic, Furevik replies.
Ice melting in Greenland has been one of the main contributors to sea level rise in the last century, the researchers write in the journal Nature. The loss of ice has accelerated significantly since the 1990s, they write.
2024-01-22 02:07:39
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