Danish scientists have actually performed an extensive research study exposing a remarkable boost in Greenland’s glacier melting over the past 20 years, 5 times faster than in the 80 s and 90 s. This research study, covering 130 years and including 1,000 glaciers, has actually dealt with doubts about the degree of melting due to environment modification. The findings highlight the immediate requirement for CO2 emission decrease to slow future water level increase.
In the biggest study of its kind ever performed scientists from the University of Copenhagen strongly develop that Greenland’s glaciers are melting at an unmatched speed.
In the biggest study of its kind ever performed, utilizing both satellite images and old aerial images from the Danish National Archives, scientists from the University of Copenhagen strongly develop that Greenland’s glaciers are melting at an unmatched speed. Melting has actually increased fivefold in the past 20 years. The research study removes any remaining doubts about the effect of environment modification on Greenland’s more than 20,000 glaciers.
Based on the most thorough tracking of Greenland’s glaciers to date, Danish scientists have actually had the ability to cast aside any doubt concerning the effect of environment modification in the world.
Their brand-new outcomes record that, compared to the 80 s and 90 s, when glaciers diminished by approximately about 5 meters a year, melting has actually increased fivefold throughout the past 20 years, so that today, 25 meters annually are lost.
Glacier in The Ujaraannaq valley in West Greenland drawn from a seaplane in1936 Credit: The Agency for Data Supply and Infrastructure
Advancements in Glacial Research
The brand-new research study reveals the action of Greenland’s glaciers to environment modification over a 130- year duration. The past 20 years stand apart in specific, as melting throughout this duration increased a lot more drastically.
The research study has actually been released today in the clinical journal < period class ="glossaryLink" aria-describedby ="tt" data-cmtooltip ="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>Nature Climate Change</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>Established in 2011 as the continuation of <em>Nature Reports Climate Change</em>, which was itself established in 2007, <em>Nature Climate Change</em> is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing the most significant research across the physical and social sciences on the impacts of global climate change. It is published by Nature Publishing Group and covers all aspects of research on global warming, including implications for the economy, policy and the world at large.</div>" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" >NatureClimateChange
A variety of research studies in the last few years have actually revealed thatGreenland’s biggest glaciers are under enormous pressure due to weather modifications and increasing temperature levels.However, doubts stayed about the degree of the melting glaciers, of which there are approx.22,000 inGreenland, partially due to insufficient measurement approaches.But any doubts that might have existed before have actually now been eliminated by theDanish scientists.
TheUjaraanaq valley in2013, the fjord is now bare of ice and the glaciers have actually melted onto land.Credit:HansHenrikTholstrup/University ofCopenhagen
“In this article, we make it clear that Greenland’s glaciers are all melting, and that things have moved exceptionally fast over the past 20 years. There is no doubt about the extent anymore and actually no reason to investigate the claim further,” statesAssistantProfessorAndersBj ørk from theDepartment ofGeosciences andNaturalResourceManagement
GroundbreakingDataCollection
According to the scientist, previous doubts were necessitated to a particular degree.Indeed, the possibilities of examining and recording the degree to which glaciers disappeared over extended amount of times were restricted prior to the period of satellite images.
For example, just one of Greenland’s around 22,000 glaciers was constantly kept an eye on utilizing so-called mass balance measurements, which started in the mid-1990 s. At the exact same time, there were locations of Greenland covered by glacier that appeared untouched by increasing temperature levels simply a couple of years back.
“Previously, we saw areas in northern Greenland, for example, that were lagging behind and melting less compared to the hardest hit glaciers. This generated a bit of doubt about how serious things were in these areas. At the same time, no one before us had ever shed light on such a long period of time, which precipitated doubts as well. But now, the picture is conclusive: The melting of all glaciers is in full swing, there is no longer any doubt,” states Anders Bj ørk.
The open Heinkel seaplane produced the mapping explorations. Credit: The danish Agency for Data Supply and Infrastructure
To get a complete summary, the scientists carefully studied 1,000 of Greenland’s glaciers, a representative quantity for the whole nation. They tracked the melting of glaciers over the past 130 years utilizing satellite images and 200,000 old aerial images from the Danish National Archives, which had actually formerly been utilized to make maps.
“Slightly more than 1,000 glaciers is an enormous number to study, but we did so because we simply wanted to be absolutely certain to get a comprehensive picture of developments over the last 130 years,” states Anders Bj ørk.
Consequences of Melting Glaciers
While Anders Bj ørk states that there is no longer much factor to check out whether glaciers are melting or not, the advancement still requires to be carefully kept an eye on. Over the previous twenty years, melting glaciers have actually added to about 21% of observed water level increase.
“Of course, we’ll be keeping a close eye on developments. We’re in a new era where glaciers are generally in retreat, with major consequences for sea levels that will rise faster and faster,” he states.
The open Heinkel seaplane over the Stauning Alps in East Greenland,1933 Credit: The Agency for Data Supply and Infrastructure
Paradoxically, the melting of glaciers in Greenland will cause an absence of water. Glaciers will reach a point at which they end up being so little that meltwater rivers will be reduced or vanish entirely. Among other things, this suggests that Greenland’s environments will alter which renewable resource will deal with unanticipated difficulties:
“Today, there is already a very real problem in Greenland that the sites where hydroelectric power plants were built 15-20 years ago, based upon the melt from smaller glaciers, do not get enough water because the ice is gone and not being formed again,” states the scientist.
Perspectives on the Future
As a scientist and personal individual, what do you think of the degree of the melt that your research study provides?
“I think it’s quite disturbing. Because we’re well aware of where this is headed in the future. Temperatures will continue to rise and glaciers will melt faster than they do now,” states Anders Bj ørk, including:
“But our study also shows that glaciers respond to climate change very quickly, which is in itself positive because it tells us that it’s not too late to minimize warming. Everything that we can do to reduce CO2 emissions now will result in slower sea level rise in the future.”
About the research study
- In mix with satellite observations, the scientists utilized an untapped archive of aerial images to record the advancement of more than 1,000 land-terminating glaciers in Greenland.
- The scientists’ observations cover all of Greenland’s significant areas over a 130- year duration and, for the very first time ever, make it possible to record the degree of glacial retreat throughout the 21′ century, throughout Greenland, within the 130- year time scale.
- Over thirteen years of observation, researchers have actually observed a substantial and extensive retreat amongst Greenland’s glaciers.
- The speed at which glaciers have actually pulled back over the previous 20 years has actually sped up drastically.
- Furthermore, regardless of the vast array of environment zones and glacier attributes throughout Greenland, researchers discover that this most current velocity in retreat is common and consists of Earth’s northern most glaciers.
- Together, these findings suggest that the rate of retreat observed in the twenty-first century is extraordinary for Greenland when seen in a century-long context.
- The research study was performed by a group of scientists from the University of Copenhagen and GEUS together with American coworkers.
- The research study has actually been released in the clinical journal Nature Climate Change.
Reference: “Greenland-wide accelerated retreat of peripheral glaciers in the twenty-first century” by L. J. Larocca, M. Twining–Ward, Y. Axford, A. D. Schweinsberg, S. H. Larsen, A. Westergaard–Nielsen, G. Luetzenburg, J. P. Briner, K. K. Kjeldsen and A. A. Bj ørk, 9 November 2023, Nature Climate Change
DOI: 10.1038/ s41558-023-01855 -6
