OSLO – Greenland’s ice losses are accelerating and nudging up sea levels, according to a study showing that icebergs breaking away and meltwater run-off are equally to blame for the shrinking ice sheet.
The report, using computer models to confirm satellite data, indicated that ice losses quickened in 2006-08 to the equivalent of 0.75mm (0.03 inch) of world sea level rise per year from an average 0.46mm a year for 2000-08.
"Mass loss has accelerated," said Michiel van den Broeke, of Utrecht University in the Netherlands, who led the study, in today's edition of the journal Science.
“The years 2006-08, with their warm summers, have seen a huge melting,” he said.
“The underlying causes suggest this trend is likely to continue in the near future,” Jonathan Bamber, a co-author at the University of Bristol, said in a statement.
The computer models matched satellite data for ice losses – raising confidence in the findings – and showed that losses were due equally to meltwater, caused by rising temperatures, and icebergs breaking off from glaciers.
“This helps us to understand the processes that affect Greenland. This will also help us predict what will happen,” Dr van den Broeke said. Until now, the relative roles of snowfall, icebergs and thawing ice have been poorly understood.
Greenland locks up enough ice to raise world sea levels by seven metres (23 ft) if it were all to thaw. At the other end of the globe, Antarctica contains the ice equivalent of 58 metres of sea level rise, according to UN data. – (Reuters)