Pace Of Greenland's Ice Melting Increased Fourfold Since 2003 - Reports

The pace of ice melting in Greenland has increased fourfold since 2003 and the ice is now melting faster than scientists previously expected, media reported on Tuesday, citing a study

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2019) The pace of ice melting in Greenland has increased fourfold since 2003 and the ice is now melting faster than scientists previously expected, media reported on Tuesday, citing a study.

The Guardian reported, citing a survey published by Proceedings of the National academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), that huge chunks of ice are separating from enormous glaciers in Greenland and melting in the Atlantic Ocean. However, the scientists have found that the largest ice loss occurred in in the south-west of Greenland, where there are mainly no glaciers.

According to the survey, surface ice is melting due to the rise of global temperature and huge flows of melt-water are going to the ocean and thus raising sea levels. Scientists expect that south-west Greenland, which previously was not regarded as a source of disasters for coastal cities, will become a big contributor to sea level rise in the future.

"We knew we had one big problem with increasing rates of ice discharge by some large outlet glaciers. But now we recognize a second serious problem: increasingly, large amounts of ice mass are going to leave as meltwater, as rivers that flow into the sea ... The only thing we can do is adapt and mitigate further global warming - it's too late for there to be no effect. This is going to cause additional sea level rise," Michael Bevis, lead author of the study, said as quoted by the media outlet.

The study reveals that in 2002-2016, Greenland lost about 280 billion tonnes of ice that is enough to raise the worldwide sea level by 0.03 inches annually. If all Greenland's ice melt, global sea levels would rise by seven meters, or more than 20 feet. This would have led to drowning most coastal settlements.

Scientists warn that global ice loss endangers such cities as Miami, Shanghai, numerous islands in the Pacific Ocean and other coastal areas.