Current predictions of ice melt in the Arctic are undoubtedly way off. According to a new study, glaciers in the icy north could be slipping into the sea up to 100 times faster than previously thought.
Gaps in data meant that climate scientists have been using observations from accessible glaciers to build models of how all glaciers melt.
However, what is happening to the Antarctic ice sheet is significantly different from what is occurring to Arctic glaciers.
In Greenland, recent observations show that warm ocean water in the country’s fjords is chiseling away at parts of the floating ice sheet from underneath.
This submarine melting is very difficult to measure, especially when you consider how dangerously close to calving icebergs research vessels must get.
In 2019, researchers studying floating glacier fronts in Alaska tried to analyze the underlying physics behind ice melt. Meltwater was detected in the ocean as far as 400 meters from the ice wall, which suggested far more ice was melting quicker than previous estimates – a hundred times greater.
With these more accurate measurements researchers can create a better model of Arctic glacier melt in other parts of the northern hemisphere.
Some scientists believe that Greenland’s ice sheet has already passed the point of no return; others think it could be gone by 2035.
In 2019, Greenland lost half a trillion tonnes of ice. In comparison, Antarctica is losing ice mass at an average rate of about 150 billion tons per year.
https://www.sciencealert.com/greenlands-glaciers-seem-to-be-melting-much-much-faster-than-we-thought