Greenland is losing more ice than expected due to climate warming

ArabiaWeather - According to a new study, the results of which were published on Wednesday, based on the analysis of satellite data, the melting of the Greenland ice sheet has recorded greater degrees over the past four decades than expected, mainly due to climate warming.

Using data from satellites, the researchers analyzed the evolution of the ice mass covering Greenland and obtained nearly 240,000 observations of the locations of the ends of the ice masses - where the glaciers meet the ocean . “What we found surprised us,” the scientists said in the journal Nature.

“The Greenland ice sheet has lost a much greater amount of ice in recent decades than initially thought,” the researchers concluded.

The researchers found that the mass of ice lost due to retreating ice fronts has historically decreased by about 1,000 gigatons (1 gigaton is equivalent to one billion tons). Thus, this results in at least a 20% increase in ice area loss compared to previous estimates.

Declining density of glaciers

"Almost all of Greenland's glaciers have seen their density decline or retreat in recent decades," Chad Green, a scientist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and the lead author of the study, told AFP.

He added: "There is no real exception, and this is happening everywhere in the same period of time."

The main reason for this melting is climate change, whether due to rising atmospheric or ocean temperatures, and Greenland's glaciers are sensitive to those changes, according to Chad Green.

The loss of mass had "little direct impact on the overall rise in sea levels," as ice is mainly found in the ocean, according to the study's authors.

However, what is happening is still enough to have a potential impact on ocean circulation, causing potential impacts on climate systems, ecosystems, food security, as well as on the Earth's energy balance.

The researchers made another finding: glaciers with stronger seasonal cycles of advance in winter and retreat in summer appear to be more likely to be affected by warming, and have experienced significant retreat in recent decades. This is due to the importance of understanding these patterns to more accurately predict the evolution of glaciers in the future.

Source: alaraby