Greenland's glacier ice is melting faster and faster

Annual volume loss equivalent to the water volume of the largest African lake, Lake Victoria, or the area of Bavaria.

International research group warns of increasingly rapid developments with serious consequences for sea level rise.

As part of a mapping of crevasses to determine the three-dimensional volume on the Greenland ice sheet, and with the help of high-resolution digital elevation models, scientists led by Tom Chudley of Durham University have recently shown in the journal Nature Geoscience that there has been a significant increase in crevasse volume on the ice sheet between 2016 and 2021, in conjunction with accelerated flow rates [2].



The changes in crevasse volume correlate strongly with the changes in discharge and strongly indicate that the acceleration of ice flow has led to a significant increase in crevasse formation. As a result, a mechanism is set in motion that leads to mass loss feedbacks, including increased calving, accelerated runoff and accelerated water transfer to the ground. The reaction of the crevasses is "an order of magnitude faster" than previously determined by satellite observations.

Sven Plöger on the International Year of Glaciers: When the Arctic melts

"Renewable energy, together with other environmentally friendly measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, will make a critical contribution to breaking this vicious circle and the threat of domino effects with a sea rise of seven meters if the entire Greenland ice sheet melts. And we have the choice on election day on 23 February ," say Neela Kröger, Heike Kröger and Ubbo de Witt, of the Projekt group of companies.

See also

GREEN PLANET energy zur Klimawahl 2025: Was auf dem Spiel steht und wofür wir uns einsetzen
Risse im grönländischen Eisschild wachsen immer schneller | tagesschau.de

[1] NASA visible earth: Meltwater ponds along Greenland West Coast
[2] Nature Geoscience: Increased crevassing across accelerating Greenland Ice Sheet margins