In 2010 Greenland Ice Sheet Melted at Record Rates

Greenland Ice Sheets set new records for melting in 2010, says a new study. The 'exceptional' season stretched up to 50 days longer than the average time.

"This past melt season was exceptional, with melting in some areas stretching up to 50 days longer than average," said Dr. Marco Tedesco, director of the Cryospheric Processes Laboratory at The City College of New York (CCNY - CUNY).

Experts Say That Greenland Ice Cap Melt is Rapid
A British research team analysing the Greenland ice sheet has found proof of a fast accelerating rate of melt.

"Melting in 2010 started exceptionally early at the end of April and ended quite late in mid- September."

Tedesco and his team examined surface temperature anomalies over the Greenland ice sheet surface, as well as estimates of surface melting from satellite data, ground observations and models.

The team noted that in 2010, summer temperatures up to 3C above the average were combined with reduced snowfall. Bare ice was exposed earlier than the average and longer than previous years, contributing to the extreme record.

Drilling Greenland Ice may Reveal Global Warming's Impact on World in 100 Years
A team of scientists is planning to dig up ice dating back more than 100,000 years in Greenland, to shed light on how global warming will change the world over the next century.

"Bare ice is much darker than snow and absorbs more solar radiation. Other ice melting feedback loops that we are examining include the impact of lakes on the glacial surface, of dust and soot deposited over the ice sheet and how surface meltwater affects the flow of the ice toward the ocean," said Tedesco.

WWF climate specialist Dr. Martin Sommerkorn said "Sea level rise is expected to top 1 metre by 2100, largely due to melting from ice sheets. And it will not stop there - the longer we take to limit greenhouse gas production, the more melting and water level rise will continue."

Greenland Ice Sheet is Melting Very Rapidly
A new study has suggested that the Greenland Ice Sheet is melting faster than previously believed, and as a result, freshwater runoff from the area will more than double by the end of the century.

The article appears in Environmental Research Letters.

Source-ANI

Greenland Glacier Loses Ice Chunk '4 Times Manhattan's Size'
A huge chunk of ice, 4 times that of Manhattan's size, has broken away from a Greenland glacier, a researcher from University of Delaware has reported.