NOAA
❝ Underwater melting of tidewater glaciers is occurring much faster than previously thought, according to a new study by researchers at Rutgers and the University of Oregon.
The findings, which could lead to improved forecasting of climate-driven sea level rise, are based on a new method developed by the researchers that for the first time directly measures the submarine melting of tidewater glaciers.
❝ The study appears in the July 26 issue of the journal Science.
❝ “We found that melt rates are significantly higher than expected across the whole underwater face of the glacier — in some places 100 times higher than theory would predict,” [study co-author Rebecca] Jackson said.
Out of sight, out of your mind – if you don’t include it all in your analysis.
Alaska was the greatest vacation my husband and I ever took (on our 25th anniversary) Seeing the glaciers was amazing. Watching how fast that they were calving was shocking. The statistics on the melting of the glaciers are so sad.
“Record heat in Alaska melts glaciers, hints at bigger problems that may be to come
Alaska’s temperature has risen by 4 degrees Fahrenheit in the last 50 years, that’s compared with 2 degrees for the rest of the planet.” (NBC News 5/25/19) https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/record-heat-alaska-melts-glaciers-hints-bigger-problems-may-be-n1034766
A majority of Greenland’s ice sheet is experiencing above-freezing temperatures this week, which could cause record melting and raise global sea levels. https://psmag.com/news/record-heat-threatens-greenlands-ice-sheet
“Climate change research threatened by University of Alaska budget cuts : Gov. Mike Dunleavy slashed university funding by $130 million, alarming Alaskans, scientists and climate specialists.” https://www.hcn.org/articles/climate-change-research-threatened-by-university-of-alaska-budget-cuts
The heat wave that wreaked havoc on Europe in late July has now reached Greenland, causing the ice in the region to melt.
Scientists announced Thursday that July equaled, if not surpassed, the hottest month in recorded history. But that was not the only cause for concern.
Greenland’s ice sheet melted at its most rapid rate so far this summer summer on Thursday, losing 11 billion tons of surface ice to the ocean, according to data from the Polar Portal, a website run by Danish polar research institutions, and the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
Greenland’s ice sheet is the second biggest in the world, after the Antarctic ice sheet. With the Arctic’s melting season typically continuing to the end of August, the ice sheet is likely to see the substantial melting continue. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2019/08/02/4-million-olympic-pools-how-much-arctic-melted-yesterday/1899006001/
If the entire 2,850,000 km3 (684,000 cu mi) of Greenland’s ice were to melt, global sea levels would rise 7.2 m (24 ft). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenland_ice_sheet#Rate_of_change