Greenland's Ice Sheet On The Verge Of Tipping, Sea Levels May Rise By 23 Feet

A massive ice sheet in Greenland, which is regarded as the second largest on Earth is on the verge of reaching the tipping point as it experiences ¡®accelerated melting¡¯ due to climate change.

Reuters

Failing to take this seriously could result in the entire ice sheet melting completely, and could raise the global sea levels by 7 metres.

This is according to the researchers at the University of Copenhagen and the Arctic University of Norway (study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) who were studying the Jakobshavn basin that¡¯s located in central-western Greenland and is one of the five largest basins on the island.

Researchers have been observing a variety of data going all the way back to the 1880s, noting height changes, temperature records as well as simulated modelling for this research.

In their analysis, they have found that the ice sheet that has been observed for the last 140 years is now suffering from a reduction in the height due to melting when exposed to warmer air than usual.

They believe that this could be resulting in a continuous loop, with warmer temperatures causing more of the ice to melt. This has also caused the ice sheet to experience further destabilisation.

Dr Niklas Boers, the lead author of the study explains, ¡°We might be seeing the beginning of a large-scale destabilisation, but at the moment, we cannot tell, unfortunately. So far, the signals we see are only regional, but that might simply be due to the scarcity of accurate and long-term data for other parts of the ice sheet.¡±

Reuters

Researchers added in the study, ¡°We show that the melt-elevation feedback is likely to be responsible for the observed destabilization. Our results suggest substantially enhanced melting in the near future.¡±

Boers and researchers highlight the need to monitor other parts of the Greenland ice sheet more closely to better understand the future evolution of the ice sheet.