North Greenland Ice Shelves Have Lost 35% of Their Volume In Last Half-Century, Study Finds

An anonymous reader quotes a report from CBS News: Scientists have long thought that the glaciers in North Greenland have been stable -- a vital condition, as they contain enough ice to raise the sea level by nearly 7 feet. But a new study published on Tuesday found that ice shelves in the region have lost more than a third of their volume in the last half-century because of rising temperatures -- and if it continues, scientists say there could be 'dramatic consequences' for glaciers, and the planet. Using thousands of satellite images and climate modeling, the study, published in Nature Communications, found that North Greenland's ice shelves 'have lost more than 35% of their total volume' since 1978.

Ice shelves are the part of ice sheets -- a form of glacier -- that float over water. Three of those shelves in North Greenland have 'completely' collapsed, researchers said, and of the five main shelves that remain, they said they have seen a 'widespread increase' in how much mass they have lost, mostly due to the warming of the ocean. One of the shelves, called Steenbsy, shrank to just 34% of its previous area between 2000 and 2013. Along with the loss of overall ice shelf volume, scientists said the area of floating ice decreased by more than a third of its original extent since 1978. This observation could pose a major problem, as the Greenland ice sheet is the second-largest contributor to sea level rise. From 2006 to 2018, scientists noted that the single sheet was responsible for more than 17% of sea level rise in that period.

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