Published 03:05 IST, August 16th 2020
Greenland ice sheets have suffered irreversible damage due to climate change: Study
In an alarming development, new research suggests that Greenland’s ice sheets have possibly shrunk past the point of return and continue to melt faster
In an alarming development, new research suggests that Greenland’s ice sheets have possibly shrunk past the point of return. According to a study published in the Nature Communications Earth & Environment journal on Thursday, the remaining ice in Greenland will continue to melt irrespective of whether the world is able to cut down on Global Warning emissions in the future.
Past the point of no return
The study observed 234 glaciers across the Arctic spanning 34 years till 2018. As per reports, the researchers have concluded that the annual snowfall on the glaciers is no longer enough to replenish the ice that melts during the summer. The glacier melting caused by global warming and climate change has caused the oceans to rise on an average of one millimetre per year.
According to the study, if all the ice in Greenland melts and is released into the ocean, the global sea level will rise by roughly 6 meters which will be enough to flood many low lying coastal areas. However, this eventuality still remains decades away but scientists are worried about the Arctic heating up twice as fast as the rest of the world for the last 30 years.
Greenland is strategically important to the US military and its ballistic missile early warning system. Earlier last year, US President Donald Trump had offered to buy Greenland from Denmark but his offer was promptly rejected.
Studies have suggested that in the current environment Greenland will only gain mass (as in ice) once every 100 years indicating the difficult process of re-growing glaciers once they lose ice in vast quantities.
Arctic Ice Split Captured In Satellite Images
Meanwhile, recent images released by the Planet Earth-observation company show the Milne Ice Shelf in the Arctic as broken. According to reports, the ice platform that split from the ice shelf formed a free-floating bloc some 80 sq km (30 sq miles) in the area. The split occurred sometime between July 30-31.
Updated 03:05 IST, August 16th 2020