January 17, 2024 at 8:35 pm Update: 6 hours ago
The Greenland ice sheet shrank by more than 5,000 square kilometers between 1985 and 2022. NASA researchers, among others, have calculated this so precisely for the first time. Their results were published in Nature. This is an area the size of North Brabant.
Due to climate change, Greenland’s glaciers are retreating further and further. Because glaciers are calving at the edges, it is difficult to get a clear picture of this.
To calculate exactly at what scale the ice is melting and crumbling, the researchers used thousands of satellite images. “Previous methods were not effective at measuring changes in the ice layer,” explains NASA researcher Alex Gardner.
If the Greenland ice sheet were to melt completely, global sea levels would rise by about 7.4 metres. This is not yet the case, but according to scientists it is clear that current warming will cause sea levels to rise by at least 27 centimeters due to the melting of the ice in Greenland.
They see another problem in the influence on currents in the ocean. If increasing amounts of fresh water entered the ocean around Greenland, it could cause stronger currents along the coast.
As a result, the warm Gulf Stream, which creates a moderate climate in Europe, may actually weaken. There is still a lot of uncertainty about the precise consequences of this. One possibility is that this actually makes Europe colder, while the melting of the ice sheet is caused by warming.
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2024-01-17 19:35:37
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