Category: Arctic ice

How the Greenland Ice Sheet is melting from the bottom up

Greenland, Antarctica Melting Six Times Faster Than in the 1990s

Scientists just discovered a massive new vulnerability in the Antarctic ice sheet

Greenland’s melting ice raised global sea level by 2.2mm in two months

Greenland ice sheet meltwater can flow in winter, too

” Arctic sea ice acts as a massive parasol for the planet, its white surface reflecting the sun’s rays back into space and keeping the air and ocean cool across the top of the globe. As the atmosphere warms, however, that ice has shrunk to historically low levels, according to satellite data. What if you could rev up the Arctic ice maker and build new layers of sea ice to counteract the warming effects of climate change?” (WIRED)

“The loss of Arctic ice from glaciers, polar land and sea is increasing faster than many scientists expected, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) report on oceans and the cryosphere said this week.

That’s bad news for polar bear populations, a top expert involved in field studies on the endangered animals has told the Guardian.” (The Guardian)

“Arctic sea ice likely reached its smallest extent for 2019 on September 18. At 1.6 million square miles (4.15 million square km), that minimum is now in a 3-way tie for 2nd-smallest in the satellite record.” (EARTH)

“The extent of Arctic sea ice at the end of this summer was effectively tied with 2007 and 2016 for second lowest since modern record keeping began in the late 1970s. An analysis of satellite data by NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado Boulder shows that the 2019 minimum extent, which was likely reached on Sept. 18, measured 1.60 million square miles (4.15 million square kilometers).” (NASA)