Thousands of Greenland’s glaciers are rapidly shrinking, according to a new study. The study found that the glaciers have lost an average of 250 cubic kilometers of ice per year since the early 1990s. This is enough to raise global sea levels by 0.7 millimeters per year.
Greenland’s glaciers are quickly melting and getting smaller, and old pictures show the big changes. When climate scientist Laura Larocca visited Denmark in 2019, she found old aerial photos of Greenland’s icy coast. These photos, found in a castle 15 years ago and now in the Danish National Archives, inspired Larocca and her team to study how the glaciers have changed with the warming climate.
By digitizing old paper photos from the 1930s and combining them with today’s satellite images, Larocca’s team discovered that Greenland’s glaciers are retreating at an alarming rate. This study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, reveals that the glaciers are melting twice as fast in the 21st century compared to the 20th century.
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Larocca, the lead author of the study, said the research took a lot of time and effort, but it highlights the rapid warming and changing of the Arctic. The Arctic has warmed four times faster than the rest of the world in recent decades. In 2021, for the first time on record, it rained at the summit of Greenland, two miles above sea level. Recent findings also suggest that large glaciers in northern Greenland, previously thought to be stable, could have “dramatic” effects on rising sea levels.
Core Reason
Larocca found it interesting that the old photos, originally taken for military operations, are now contributing to climate science. She hopes that this visually rich study will bring attention to the fast-melting territory and the threat it poses to coastlines worldwide as sea levels rise.
Now an assistant professor at Arizona State University School of Ocean Futures, Larocca emphasizes the importance of reducing emissions to protect glaciers. She believes that every small increase in temperature will significantly impact the glaciers and that taking swift action to limit global temperature rise will help prevent their future loss and reduce their contribution to rising sea levels.
The study’s findings highlight the need to take urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change.