As of: January 19, 2024, 5:18 a.m
By: Julia Hanigk
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Greenland's glaciers are melting at an alarming rate.
A new study reveals the dramatic dimensions.
Greenland – A recent study has just revealed the threatening extent of climate change: 14.5 million deaths are predicted by the consequences by 2050.
The latest research results are now looking at the melting of glaciers in Greenland and its effects.
The study's forecasts are less promising.
The Greenland ice cap is losing 20 percent more ice than previously thought.
New study of glacier melt in Greenland reveals extent
The rapid loss of ice in Greenland has been a well-known phenomenon for decades, with most of the island's glaciers already below sea level.
A recent study published in the journal
Nature
used satellite images to determine the final positions of glaciers monthly from 1985 to 2022 and quantify the changes.
Over 235,000 glacier end positions were analyzed with a resolution of 120 meters, also using artificial intelligence techniques.
The research revealed significant shortening of glaciers, totaling a loss of one trillion tons of ice, about 5,000 square kilometers.
43 billion tons more ice than previously thought is melting in Greenland: “Changes are huge”
Until now, experts assumed that 221 billion tons of ice had been melting every year since 2003.
The new study shows: There are actually 43 billion tons more per year.
The Greenland ice caps are losing an average of 30 million tons of ice per hour.
Dr.
Chad Greene, head of research at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the US: "The changes around Greenland are huge and are happening everywhere - almost every glacier has retreated in the last few decades."
“Certainly” weakened Amoc – How long does it take to reach the tipping point?
Scientists are concerned about the possible collapse of the ocean currents of the North Atlantic Current Amoc (tipping point).
“If you dump fresh water into the North Atlantic, the Amoc will certainly be weakened, although I have no idea how much it will be weakened,” Greene said.
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The meaning of so-called “tipping points”
Thresholds in the Earth's climate system are referred to as tipping points.
If they are exceeded, this leads to abrupt and usually irreversible changes.
Current research suggests that some of these points could be exceeded in the next few decades.
This would drastically worsen the already dangerous climate situation.
The researchers explain: “There is concern that any small freshwater source could serve as a 'tipping point' that could trigger a widespread collapse of the Amoc, disrupting global weather patterns, ecosystems and global food security.
“But the fresh water from the retreat of the glaciers in Greenland is currently not taken into account in the oceanographic models.”
What happens if the Amoc collapses?
The North Atlantic Current Amoc means the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation.
It is part of the global ocean circulation and ensures the balance of heat and temperature in the Atlantic Ocean and in the adjacent regions of the southern and northern hemisphere.
It is thought that any change to the Amoc could have global impacts on temperature and precipitation patterns and alter the world's climate.
The melting of the Greenland glaciers and the addition of fresh water have been proven to weaken the Amoc.
Ice melting and sea level rise in Greenland
According to scientists, a large part of the Greenland ice sheet is close to the point of irreversible melting.
This could have already led to a rise in sea level of one to two meters.
This contributes to another tipping point in our climate system.
The rise in sea level caused by the water that is currently stored as ice in Greenland could lead to flooding in coastal regions and changes in geographical conditions in the long term.
Glaciers are melting in Greenland.
© alimdi/Arterra/Patrick Keirsebilck/imageBROKER/IMAGO
However, most of the glaciers examined in the study were already below sea level, so the lost ice was replaced by seawater and therefore has no direct impact on sea level.
Greene says: “It almost certainly has an indirect effect, making the glaciers speed up.
These narrow fjords are the bottleneck, and when you start cutting around the edges of the ice, it's like removing the plug from the drain."
Melting glaciers in Greenland also have an impact on climate target calculations
But the discovery of additional ice loss is also important for another calculation: Earth's energy imbalance.
This refers to calculations that determine how much additional solar heat the Earth captures due to human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, Greene said.
“It takes a lot of energy to melt tons of ice.
“So if we want to have very precise energy balance models for the Earth, this has to be taken into account.”
(jh)
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