3.5 trillion tonnes of Greenland ice have melted in the last decade. That has increased global sea levels by one centimeter and increased the risk of flooding, a new study shows.
According to the study published on Monday, one third of the ice that has melted since 2011 disappeared in just two summers – 2012 and 2019.
This is the first study that used satellite data to research the melting of ice in Greenland. The data comes from the European Space Agency (ESA).
The amount of melting water from the ice in Greenland has increased by 21% in the last 40 years. During the same period, extreme ice melting has occurred more frequently.
The satellite images show large variations in how much ice melts in Greenland from year to year. The images combined with statistics on temperatures show that heatwaves are increasingly a major cause of ice melting – more than global warming.
Extreme ice melt
“When the climate gets warmer, it is reasonable to assume that extreme ice melt in Greenland will happen more often,” the lead author of the study, Thomas Slater of the University of Leeds, stated.
Predicting how much ice melting in Greenland contributes to rising sea levels has long been difficult for researchers. Still, access to satellite images has made this much easier.
“Estimates show that it will lead to an increase in sea levels of between 3 and 23 centimeters by 2100,” co-author Amber Leeson of Lancaster University stated.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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Western countries produce huge amounts of livestock.
Think of all the cows etc in USA, Brazil, Australia and UK.
What percentage of methane gas in the atmosphere come from that?
Should we not half that?