warming melts last stable edge of greenland icesheet
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

Warming melts last stable edge of Greenland icesheet

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Warming melts last stable edge of Greenland icesheet

Paris - AFP

The last edge of the Greenland ice sheet that had resisted global warming has now become unstable, adding billions of tonnes of meltwater to rising seas, scientists said on Sunday. In a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, they said a surge in temperature from 2003 had eased the brakes on a long "river" of ice that flows to the coast in northeastern Greenland. Known as an ice stream, the "river" takes ice from a vast basin and slowly shifts it to the sea -- in the same way that the Amazon River drains water. In the past, the flow from this ice stream had been constrained by massive buildups of ice debris choking its mouth. But a three-year spell of exceptionally high temperatures removed this blockage -- and like a cork removed from a bottle helped accelerate the flow, the study said. The ice stream, called Zachariae, is the largest drain from an ice basin that covers a whopping 16 percent of the Greenland ice sheet. From 2003 to 2012, northeastern Greenland disgorged 10 billion tonnes of ice annually into the ocean, the study found. "Northeast Greenland is very cold. It used to be considered the last stable part of the Greenland ice sheet," said Michael Bevis, an Earth sciences professor at Ohio State University, who led the study. "This study shows that ice loss in the northeast is now accelerating. So, now it seems that all the margins of the Greenland ice sheet are unstable." Greenland is estimated to contribute 0.5mm (0.012 inches) to the 3.2 mm (0.13 inches) annual rise in global sea levels. The main tool in the study was data from a network of 50 Global Positioning System (GPS) sensors along the Greenland coast. The monitors use Earth's natural elasticity as a stethoscope of the ice sheet. Ice is heavy, so when it melts in massive quantities the land rebounds and the position of the sensors changes slightly. To get a wider picture, the GPS data was then overlaid with data from three US satellites and a European one that measured ice thickness from space. "The Greenland ice sheet has contributed more than any other ice mass to sea level rise over the last two decades and has the potential, if it were completely melted to raise global sea level by more than seven metres (22.75 feet)," said Jonathan Bamber, a professor at Britain's University of Bristol. "About half of the increased contribution of the ice sheet is due to the speedup of glaciers in the south and northwest. Until recently, northeast Greenland has been relatively stable. This new study shows that it is no longer the case."

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

warming melts last stable edge of greenland icesheet warming melts last stable edge of greenland icesheet

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

warming melts last stable edge of greenland icesheet warming melts last stable edge of greenland icesheet

 



GMT 14:30 2017 Sunday ,22 October

Abe coalition wins resounding victory in Japan vote

GMT 09:44 2017 Tuesday ,17 October

Morocco arrests 11 suspects linked to ISIS

GMT 13:09 2015 Tuesday ,09 June

Slaven Bilic returns to West Ham as manager

GMT 16:04 2017 Saturday ,30 September

Got a yacht? Proposed French tax break makes waves

GMT 13:06 2016 Saturday ,31 December

Syrian passport trade becomes unlikely cash cow

GMT 04:47 2017 Wednesday ,30 August

Mark Zuckerberg welcomes second daughter in Facebook

GMT 00:59 2014 Saturday ,07 June

January 19 - February 17

GMT 10:53 2017 Wednesday ,05 July

AU Summit gives priority to youth empowerment

GMT 17:26 2017 Wednesday ,15 February

Russian jets in ‘unsafe’ encounters with destroyer
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday