A press release from NASA titled “Satellites See Unprecedented
Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Melt” set off a media frenzy and
many blog articles reporting a great melting of 97% of the
Greenland glacier surface. This announcement was based on a
change in albedo, detected by satellites, which was interpreted
as surficial melting. It is true that for a few hours between
July 9 and 12, the surface temperatures crept barely above
freezing. But, according to the Byrd Polar Research Center,
changes in albedo can also be caused by temperature-driven snow
metamorphism that reduces reflectivity by rounding the sharp ice
crystal edges that scatter visible light and by increased snow
impurities like carbonaceous soot from wildfires or diesel
exhaust. We note that there have been many large, soot-creating
wildfires lately. Whatever the cause of the recent, sort-lived
change in albedo, of greater concern is the news release itself
with its hyped title and contradictory content. The ‘melting’
event was not “unprecedented.” W