Melting land
Greenland's ice sheet could melt even before the stipulated 1,000 years, scientist told a conference in St Louis, usa. A study by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (nasa) and the University of Kansas found that the amount of ice melt making its way into the Atlantic Ocean from Greenland has doubled in the last five years.
If the Greenland ice sheet melted completely, it would raise the global sea level by about seven metres, reports bbc. Greenland's contribution to the rise in global sea levels at present is two to three times greater than in 1996. We are concerned because we know that sea levels have been able to rise much faster in the past 10 times faster, said co-author Eric Rignot, nasa. He added, It takes a long time to build and melt an ice sheet, but glaciers can react quickly to temperature changes.
Rising air temperatures could be behind the increase in glacier speed in the southern half of Greenland since 1996; but the northward spread of warmer temperatures may be responsible for a rapid increase in glacier speed further north since 2000. Over the past 20 years, the air temperature in south-east Greenland has risen by 3 o c.
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