Last January, a study in Nature Climate Change showed the world's glaciers are the smallest they've been in human history, revealing radiocarbon material that hasn't been exposed for 40,000 years. Now, new research published in Nature quantifies how much the world's lost glaciers have contributed to rising sea levels. From …
As Greenland returns to the warm climate that allowed Vikings to colonize it in the Middle Ages, its isolated and dependent people dream of greener fields and pastures
At first glance Greenland is an expanse of blinding white. But as my chopper swings low over the island, color catches my eye. For miles on end, bands of blue meltwater fringe the ice sheet. Fields of white are threaded with riv
If some of the spectacular calving of ice shelves in Antarctica is down to global warming, then why did we not see break-ups on the same scale in Greenland, which is much warmer? It turns out that, counter-intuitively, it's because Greenland is warmer. When the ice sheets that blanket Antarctica …
Sea levels during the last interglacial stage (about 125 kyr ago) are known to have been higher than today, and may serve as a partial analogue for anthropogenic warming scenarios. However, because local sea levels differ from global sea level, accurately reconstructing past global sea level requires an integrated analysis …
This study by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program estimates that the sea will rise by 0.5 to 1.5 meters by 2100, threatening coastal cities and flooding island nations. This is double the predicted rise estimated by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on climate Change (IPCC) in 2007, which did not …
Greenland has lost about 1,500 cubic kilometres of ice between 2000 and 2008, which is responsible for one-sixth of global sea level rise, scientists have claimed. Researchers from Broeke of Utrecht University in the Netherlands came to the conclusion after studying the difference in annual snowfall and snowmelt in Greenland …
Mass loss from the glaciers along the margins of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets is increasingly contributing to sea level rise. However, ice loss as a result of accelerated flow, known as dynamic thinning, is so poorly understood that its potential future contribution to sea level remains unpredictable. Here, …
U.S. wavering on climate commitment could undermine action to save the planet, the director of Germany's Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research said on the sidelines of a conference on Monday. Preserving the Greenland ice cap was the defining action needed to prevent several meters of sea level rise and …
Scientists are surprised at how extensively coastal ice in Antarctica and Greenland is thinning, according to a study Wednesday that could help predict rising sea levels linked to climate change. Analysis of millions of NASA satellite laser images showed the biggest loss of ice was caused by glaciers speeding up …
SETH BORENSTEIN New satellite information shows that ice sheets in Greenland and western Antarctica continue to shrink faster than scientists thought and in some places are already in runaway melt mode. British scientists for the first time calculated changes in the height of the vulnerable but massive ice sheets and …
OVER the next few days, climate change and its imminent geographic, economic and social impact will be the topic of animated discussions at a series of world fora. Beginning with the United Nations General Assembly on September 22, the debate will shift to the G-20 meeting at Pittsburgh on September …
This new UNEP report warns that the pace and extent of climate change may exceed even the most sobering expectations voiced by IPCC fourth assessment report. It is based on findings of more than 400 major peer-reviewed scientific studies & research institutions over the last three years. Climate Change Science …
Helping developing nations to adapt to climate change such as floods or heatwaves can give bigger economic benefits than a focus on deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, a study indicated on Friday. A total of $10 trillion spent on adaptation, ranging from research into drought-resistant crops to measures to …
