Comparing photos of melting glaciers over a long period of time shows that they are losing mass. However, until now it has been difficult to identify the actual change in volume. Researchers have now done that. Their measurements show that glaciers worldwide between 2010 and 2020 one 2 percent have shrunk.
That 2 percent is enormous 2,720 Gigatons of ice that has melted. One gigaton equals a billion tons. The melting of the glaciers contributes even more to the rise in sea levels than that of the ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, writes the ESA in a statement.
temperature rise
Responsible for the shrinkage is too 89 percent the rise of ambient temperature. The remaining 11 percent came about because of the fact that coastal glaciers warmer sea water would be thinned out. This shows for the first time how the atmosphere and the oceans interact when ice melts.
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So far, it has been difficult to monitor the glaciers extensively and globally because the terrain is very rough and difficult to access. With the European CryoSatwho since 2010 die ice sheets in Greenland and the Antarctica monitored, data on glaciers could now also be collected. The satellite is with a SAR Radiointerferimetrie altimeter specially designed to measure changes in the ice.
New satellite to analyze ice more precisely
The research results were Specialist magazine AGU published. This initial research forms the basis of the new Glacier Mass Balance intercomparison Exercise, glambie. They want to further investigate the changes in the glaciers using various satellite data and on-site analyses.
As part of the European observation program Copernicus Among other things, a satellite is being developed to study ice sheets and glaciers. Copernicus Sentinel Expansion CRISTAL would be for it with one Radar-Altimeter and one Microwave Radiometer equipped to survey the ice. It is scheduled to start in 2027.
