Glaciers in West Greenland are melting faster at the point where ice meets the sea compared to above the surface. This suggests that under-sea melting caused by warmer ocean waters is playing a key role in this. All major Greenland glaciers meet the ocean, and these glaciers release 90 percent of all ice discharged by Greenland into the sea. An ocean temperature rise of just 3 degrees could melt glacial ice at a rate of several meters per day, equating to a loss of hundreds of meters in a year.
This photo has been graciously provided to be used in the GRID-Arendal resources library by : Lawrence Hislop.
Year: 2011
From album: The state of Glaciers in Greenland
Photographer:
GRID Arendal
Tags:
green economy