Ice loss from the Greenland ice sheet, which has been increasing
during the past decade over its southern region, is now moving
up its northwest coast, according to a new international study.
Greenland is about one-fourth the size of the United States and
the massive ice sheet covers about 80 percent of its surface. It
holds about 20 percent of the world’s ice, the equivalent of
about 6.4 meters (21 feet) of global sea rise. Air temperatures
over the Greenland ice sheet have increased by about 2.2 degrees
Celsius (4 degrees Fahrenheit) since 1991, which most scientists
attribute to a build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
The research indicates the ice-loss acceleration began moving up
the northwest coast of Greenland staring in late 2005. The team
drew their conclusions by comparing data from NASA’s Gravity and
Recovery Climate Experiment satellite system, or GRACE, with
continuous GPS measurements made from long-term sites on bedrock
on the edges of the ice sheet. The data from the GPS and GRACE
pr