Ice sheet on Greenland experienced record thaw for 2010
The latest measurements of the Greenland ice sheet indicate it experienced the greatest thaw on record, with melting beginning and ending beyond the usual seasonal patterns.
“This past melt season was exceptional, with melting in some areas stretching up to 50 days longer than average,” said Dr. Marco Tedesco, director of the Cryospheric Processes Laboratory at The City College of New York (CCNY – CUNY), who is leading a project studying variables that affect ice sheet melting.
Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, experienced the warmest spring and summer on record since 1873, when recordkeeping of climate temperatures began.
The melting of the Greenland ice sheet is considered to be a major contributor to projected sea level rises in coming decades. WWF climate specialist Dr. Martin Sommerkorn said “Sea level rise is expected to top 1 metre by 2100, largely due to melting from ice sheets. And it will not stop there – the longer we take to limit greenhouse gas production, the more melting and water level rise will continue.”
Photographs and other media materials can be accessed on http://greenland.cryocity.org.
Dr. Tedesco’s continuing research on ice sheets can be followed on www.cryocity.org.
For more on Arctic climate change, visit http://www.panda.org/arctic.
