Almost all glaciers Greenland has ‘weakened’ or declined in recent yearscaused higher rates of Rising sea levels And Climate impacts around the world. A study recently published in the journal ‘Nature’ concluded that:Ice loss from Greenland glaciers since 1985 was 20% greater and faster than scientists previously believed..
This surprising result was obtained by a team of American researchers who compiled 236,328 observations obtained manually and by computer. artificial intelligence Data of glacier tip positions collected every month between 1985 and 2022.
“What we show here is that, since 1985, The Greenland ice sheet lost 5,091 square kilometers, an area similar to La RiojaThis corresponds to a loss of approximately 1,000 gigatons of ice (one gigaton is equivalent to 1,000 million tons). In more understandable numerical terms, Greenland is losing about 30 tons of ice per hour.
This result means that ice loss in Greenland could have consequences for both. sea level rise that may be greater than expectedin that The collapse of globally important North Atlantic Ocean currents, because they are essential when it comes to regulating the planet’s climate.
“Our results are based on ignoring the retreat of the calving front (around Greenland where the glaciers meet the sea), lCurrent consensus estimates of the ice sheet budget underestimate Greenland’s recent mass loss by up to 20%.“, the report states.
Cities and countries are in danger
“The mass loss we reported Minimal direct impact on global sea level, but sufficient to affect ocean circulation and worldwide distribution of thermal energy“, warn the study’s authors. And this points to further ice melting in the future.
Another conclusion of the study’s authors is that the decades-long retreat of ice is “highly correlated” with the seasonal advance and magnitude of retreat of each glacier (from a maximum in May to a minimum between September and October). variability of terminal location on seasonal time scalesIndicator of glaciers’ sensitivity to long-term climate change“.
The retreat of Greenland’s glaciers is a common phenomenon. “There are no exceptions, this happens everywhere and at the same time,” the researchers note. Again, glaciers are most sensitive to seasonal changes (Those that expand more in winter and shrink more in summer) They are also the ones most susceptible to the effects of global warming. and those experiencing the most significant decline in the last 40 years.
Scientists’ predictions show that The melting of the Greenland ice sheet exceeds that recorded on the planet only in Antarctica, contributing more than 20% to sea level rise over the past two decades..
Rising sea levels threaten to exacerbate flood in coastal and island communities where hundreds of millions of people reside, and over time can flood cities and even entire nations
“An unprecedented threat”
HE Arctic It’s warming four times faster than the rest of the planet. Additionally, last year experienced the hottest summer in its history. All this is a consequence of the climate crisis.
The result could be devastating: Warming the atmosphere could cause the surface of glaciers to melt faster and drip to the bottom of the ice sheet, making it easier for more ice to disappear.
According to scientists, warmest oceansabsorbing approximately 90% of excess heat caused by greenhouse gas emissions, These are related to the melting of major ice shelves that are vital to Earth because they buffer the vast ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica..
Researchers raise concerns about another possible effect: changing deep water currents, keys to global climate models. They point out that the additional contribution of freshwater to the ocean could impact the oceans. Atlantic Meridional Reverse Circulation It is a complex system that regulates (AMOC). heat transfer from the tropics to the northern hemisphere.
Changes in the AMOC and the melting of ice sheets are among more than twenty climate emergencies identified by an international group of scientists last year. “An unprecedented threat” for the future of humanity and the planet.
Reference report: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06863-2
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