Mar 25, 2025 · Ice Sheets Today offers the latest satellite data and scientific analyses on surface melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet in the Northern Hemisphere and Antarctic Ice Sheet in the Southern Hemisphere. Surface melt on each ice sheet results from a combination of daily weather conditions and the amount of solar energy absorbed by its snow and ice.

Feb 11, 2025 · When the ice sheet surface is lowered by melting at a rate outweighing the uplift of the landscape due to glacial isostatic adjustment, then the Greenland ice sheet mass tips from...

In addition to generating daily maps and graphs of surface melt data, Ice Sheets Today provides the following data tools with a focus on the Greenland Ice Sheet. Greenland Surface Melt Extent Interactive Chart. Explore the interactive graph below and look at …

The Greenland Ice Sheet gains mass chiefly from snow accumulation and loses mass through meltwater runoff and discharge of solid ice into the ocean (i.e., calving icebergs). The sum of these quantities is the ice-sheet mass balance: the net gain or loss of ice, usually summarized over a mass balance year.

Mar 12, 2025 · The melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet is one of the Earth system tipping points. But what exactly is the Greenland Ice Sheet’s tipping point and what would it mean to cross it? “Tipping point” is a tricky phrase for scientists because it’s poorly defined. Among non-scientists, the phrase brings to mind near-instant shifts that occur ...

Jan 17, 2024 · The Greenland Ice Sheet has shed about one-fifth more ice mass in the past four decades than previously estimated, researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California reported in a new paper.

Feb 12, 2025 · Projections indicate that if Greenland’s ice sheet were to completely melt, global sea levels could rise by 7 meters. The Tipping Point for Irreversible Melting New research published in The Cryosphere has provided insights into the tipping point —the moment when the loss of ice mass might become irreversible, potentially leading to the ...

In 2021, the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report estimated that under SSP5-8.5, the scenario associated with the highest global warming, Greenland ice sheet melt would add around 13 cm (5 in) to the global sea levels (with a likely (17%–83%) range of 9–18 cm (3 + 1 ⁄ 2 –7 in) and a very likely range (5–95% confidence level) of 5–23 cm (2 ...

Sep 1, 2022 · In a new study, scientists say Earth’s oceans are already locked into nearly 10.8 inches of sea-level rise from Greenland’s melting ice sheet, even if humans stopped emitting planet-warming...

Jan 18, 2024 · Greenland's ice sheet is melting faster than scientists previously estimated, according to a study released Wednesday in the journal Nature, with the loss believed to be 20% worse than...

Mar 16, 2025 · Greenland's melting ice sheet is threatening local community's way of life (Credit: Getty Images) The rapid melting of the ice is already affecting local communities' way of life. "They are having ...

Feb 13, 2024 · An estimated 11,000 sq miles or 28,707 sq kilometers of Greenland's ice sheet and glaciers have melted over the last three decades, according to a major analysis of historic satellite records.

Oct 13, 2022 · Warm air temperatures cause melting to occur on the surface of the ice sheet—that process accounts for about half the ice Greenland loses each year.

Mar 27, 2025 · The Greenland ice sheet contains about 8% of the planet’s freshwater, and its meltwater could contribute significantly to rising sea levels, changing ocean circulation and ecosystems worldwide. The majority of ice loss comes from large ice chunks breaking off from glaciers and the melting of surface ice and snow.

Mar 3, 2025 · If the entire Greenland Ice Sheet melts, sea level would rise by more than 7 meters (23 feet). Atmospheric rivers are expected to become larger, more frequent and more intense in response to climate change, so understanding their impacts on the Greenland Ice Sheet is crucial. Hannah Bailey, a geochemist at the University of Oulu and the study ...

Apr 3, 2023 · Based on the latest models, releasing 1,000 gigatons of carbon into the atmosphere will completely melt the southern region of the ice sheet. Go up to 2,500 gigatons, and almost the entire ice sheet would be wiped away permanently.

Nov 21, 2012 · The mass of ice in the Greenland Ice Sheet has begun to decline in recent decades, attended by an increase in surface melt. At high elevations on the ice sheet, an increase in winter snow accumulation has partially offset the melt.

A second late-season melt event occurred later in the month when warm air associated with the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona reached Greenland: on 26 September 2022, the melt area peaked at 15% of the ice-sheet surface (245,000 km 2). Both melt episodes coincided with …

Dec 20, 2024 · Global warming is driving the rapid melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet, contributing to global sea level rise and disrupting weather patterns worldwide. Because of this, precise measurements of its changing shape are of critical importance for …

5 days ago · Melting ice sheet. About 125,000 years ago, when Earth was warmer than preindustrial levels, Greenland was covered by a significantly smaller ice sheet, and the sea level was as much as 19 feet ...

Mar 3, 2025 · Atmospheric rivers (ARs) have been linked with extreme rainfall and melt events across the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS), accelerating its mass loss. However, the impact of AR-fueled snowfall has received less attention, partly due to limited empirical evidence. Here, we relate new firn core stratigraphy and isotopic analyses with glacio ...

Mar 8, 2025 · The dark patches on the Greenland Ice Sheet are algae that bloom during the spring when the snow on of the ice melts. Near the bottom of the picture, you can see researcher Laura Halbach taking samples of the algae for further study. Credit: Laura Halbach A recent study finds that algae can store ...

Dec 20, 2024 · The Greenland Ice Sheet, part of which is shown in this image of Jakobshavn Glacier, is now melting at an incredibly rapid pace, pushing sea levels upward while upsetting global weather patterns. Precise measurements of the ice sheet’s changing shape and volume matter greatly at this point in Earth’s history because accurate data helps ...

The first, on 19 July, had melt across 702,000 km 2 (~43%) of the ice sheet surface. A second melt event on 28 July extended across 54% of the ice sheet surface, and a third melt episode concentrated on 14 August had 53% melt area and reached the highest ice sheet elevations (National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Summit Station, 3216 m).

Mar 26, 2025 · This could further accelerate the melting of Greenland’s precarious ice sheet. A 2022 study also found that three legacy mines in Greenland heavily polluted the local environment with metals ...

Mar 20, 2025 · Ice melt the size of Germany WGMS estimates that glaciers, which do not include the Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets, have lost more than 9,000 billion tonnes of mass since 1975. “This is equivalent to a huge ice block of the size of Germany with a thickness of 25 metres,” said WGMS director Michael Zemp.

During September 2022, the Greenland Ice Sheet experienced unprecedented late-season melt events, including surface melt conditions across 36% of the ice sheet surface on 3 September, including at Summit Station (3216 m above sea level in the ice sheet interior).