How Earth Is Losing Its Ice Cover To Global Warming?

• The Arctic is warming at an alarming rate three to four times the global average
• Ice lost in Greenland can submerge the US in half a meter of water
• Ice melt from Greenland is the prime factor in the rise of ocean water
• Arctic ice sheet has also shrunk considerably

Global warming data collected in two decades highlights that the Arctic ice sheet is depleting faster than anywhere else on the planet. It further highlights the melting of Greenland’s ice sheet that has lost enough water to submerge the US in half a meter of water.

Which Agency Is Monitoring Global Warming?

Which Agency Is Monitoring Global Warming

Polar Portal is the monitoring agency. This joint project involving leading Danish Arctic research institutes started work in 2002 and released the data of two decades of study last week.

The ice melt seen in the satellite images provided by the US-German GRACE programme (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) was most severe near the coasts of the Arctic territory.

Observations by independent researchers also highlight thinning of the ice. They also highlighted glacier fronts retreating in fjords and on land.

How Is Greenland Losing Its Ice Cover?

Greenland Losing Its Ice Cover?

In late January, NASA published a study in which it said that warming of the Arctic Ocean accelerated the melting of ice near Greenland’s coasts. The US agency further added that Greenland’s ice melt has risen the ocean water across the globe and that the glaciers were retreating up to seven times faster than they were 25 years ago.

The climate scientists even warned that Greenland’s ice sheet can raise the ocean water by 7 meters and Antarctica glaciers can raise the … Read the rest

Global Warming Melts 11 Billion Tonnes Of Ice In A Single Day In Greenland

Thursday proved to be the hottest day for Greenland that experienced the biggest melt of the summer losing 11 billion tonnes of surface ice to the ocean. It is equivalent to around 4.4 million Olympic swimming pools.

An overview of Greenland’s ice melt

Hot summer melts ice but in Greenland it starts around the end of May. But this year, it started early at the start of May and is continuously melting since then. Ruth Mottram, a climate scientist with Danish Meteorological Institute, attributes the high melting to all time high temperature.

Mottram told CNN that Greenland lost 197 billion tonnes of ice this July alone. The loss is equivalent to approximately 80 million Olympic swimming pools. But the expected average of ice-melt this time of the year is 60-70 billion tonnes, maintained Mottram.

Reason for ice melt

The heat wave prevailing in Europe has reached the Arctic and could trigger ice melts that could be one of the biggest since 1950, according to meteorological scientists. They are waiting for reliable records to confirm the ice-melt. Meanwhile, an unconfirmed source claimed a temperature of 2.7C at 3,000 meters above sea level on Thursday when the biggest ice-melt occurred.

Record temperatures

The preliminary data for July 1-29 revealed that the average temperature this year was possibly higher than the July 2016 that recorded the highest temperature. The data is released by Copernicus Climate Change Programme, which analyses temperature data from around the planet. It would release the final data on Monday.

Mottram added that the weather in Greenland would continue getting hotter in coming days and it could be longer lasting till August end. The ice … Read the rest