The Greenland Ice Sheet Shrinks

For 26 years, more ice has melted in Greenland than has been replaced. Since September last year, approximately 84 billion tonnes of ice have melted in Greenland, reports Sermitsiaq. This is shown by new measurements from the National Geological Surveys for Denmark and Greenland (GEUS). This is still less compared to recent decades.

Last year, the ice cap lost 172 billion tonnes of ice, which corresponds to almost half a millimeter in global sea level rise. Since 1997, the ice sheet has been steadily decreasing, but in fact the extremely hot summer in Europe may have ensured that this year there has been slightly less melting than usual.

Since the global climate is getting warmer, the researchers expect more heat records that some years will hit Europe and other years Greenland and the ice sheet, or somewhere else.