A study has revealed the ice status of Greenland, and it only spells bad news. In three years between the years 2011 and 2014, Greenland has lost one trillion tons of ice, as per the findings of Geophysical Research Letters, a science journal.
For performing the study, regional ice models along with the European Space Agency’s CryoSat satellite were used. As per the study, the Greenland ice sheet melt was responsible for twice the sea level rise as compared to the last 20 years.
While Greenland has been melting since the 1990s, the melt rate has grown at a much faster pace than ever imagined. In the last 100 years, Greenland has lost 9 trillions of ice. Now, scientists are performing studies to see how worse the ice melt could get by the end of this century.
As per The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, by the year 2100, sea levels are likely to rise from three feet to about six and a half feet. However, NOAA predicts the rise to be between four and six and a half feet. In fact, if dug in too deep, the effects and the ice melt could get even worse as estimated now.
As per geologist Hal Wanless, sea level was about 420 feet lower about 200 centuries ago. Also, during that period, atmospheric carbon concentrations were at a mere 180 parts per million as compared to today’s 400 ppm.
These numbers paint a horrific picture and only aim towards one thing, that in the coming years, there is bound to be a big rise in sea levels.
Image Credit: usatoday.com
This story was originally published on gizmodo.com
