Greenland’s ice melts faster than expected

[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default”][vc_column_text]Scientists show a growing concern about the state of the ice in Greenland, given the ever-faster pace it is melting.

The total disappearance of these ice sheets, which are about 3 km thick, would lead to a rise of about 7 meters in the oceans, but it is certain that this extreme scenario will not come to fruition over the course of a few centuries.

Today, however, the melting of Greenland ice contributes, by about 1 mm, to just under a third of the annual rise of the oceans.

The new source of concern is related to the proliferation of algae populations on the ice surface, favoured by the already recorded increase in temperature.

The surface of the ice thus become darker, reducing its natural reflective effect of light and favouring on the contrary a higher absorption which contributes to increase the ice temperature and hence its melting velocity. How relevant this effect is the subject of a five-year study led by the University of Bristol.

However, the results of the twenty-yar monitoring by NASA are available of the Helheim glacier in the eastern front of Greenland, which from 1998 to 2013 showed a retraction of the calving front of more than 3 km and a reduction in thickness of about 100 m.

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