Why is it in the news?

• Recent research, based on satellite imagery, reveals that Greenland’s ice sheet has lost 20% more ice than previously estimated, highlighting the impact of climate change.
• Researchers in the United States analysed almost 240,000 satellite images showing glacier terminus positions from 1985 to 2022.

Key Findings

• Nearly every glacier in Greenland has experienced thinning or retreat over the past few decades, indicating a pervasive impact on the ice sheet.
• Approximately 1,000 gigatons (1 gigaton = 1 billion tons), equivalent to 20% of ice around Greenland’s edges, have been lost over the past four decades and were not previously taken into account in estimates.
• While the direct impact on sea level rise is currently minimal, the unaccounted ice loss could signal future overall ice melt, making glaciers more prone to slipping towards the sea.
• Greenland glaciers are highly susceptible to seasonal changes, expanding in winter and retreating in summer.
• Greenland glaciers are the most sensitive to the impact of global warming and have experienced significant retreat since 1985.
• The melting of Greenland’s enormous ice sheet is estimated to have contributed over 20% to the observed rise in sea levels since 2002.