The researchers confirmed that glaciers in Greenland are melting 100 times faster than originally calculated. They are now using a new model that takes into account the interaction between ice and water to calculate the rate of melting.
Scientists’ findings on the state of Greenland’s glaciers are far from positive. In effect, Greenland’s glaciers are melting 100 times faster than what was expected. The old model used to measure glacier melt was based on the melting rate of floating Antarctic glaciers. It therefore does not accurately reflect the situation of the ice front in Greenland which has a gigantic 31 km wide impact crater of the Hiawatha Glacier.
To calculate the rate of melting ice in the Greenland fjords, scientists are using a new mathematical model. Compared to the old model based on Antarctica, the new model takes into account the interaction between ice and seawater in the fjords. The melting of the ice 100 times faster than expected is therefore not specifically caused by climate change, but rather by the use of a mathematical model that was outdated.
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Greenland’s vertical ice fronts are melting faster than ice in Antarctica
Kirstin Schulz, lead author of the melting ice study explained that: for years people have taken the melting rate model of floating Antarctic glaciers and applied it to the vertical ice fronts of Greenland. But there is growing evidence that the traditional approach produces too low melt rates on the vertical fronts of Greenland’s glaciers. “.
In fact, the main difference between Antarctica and Greenland is that Greenland has vertical ice fronts. In Antarctica, glacier tongues float above the water. Warmer seawater therefore acts differently on vertical glacier fronts. This is why we now realize that glaciers are melting 100 times faster than expected in Greenland. In fact, researchers have discovered microplastics in the snow of Antarctica for the first time.
For scientists, knowing the melting rate of Greenland’s glaciers is essential. And for good reason, you should know that Greenland contains enough ice to raise sea level by 6 meters if the ice were to melt completely. As Kirstin Schulz, “ the results of ocean climate models are very relevant for humanity to predict trends associated with climate change “.
Source : Space.com
