Posted on 21 January
2011 - New York: New research shows that
2010 set new records for the melting of
the Greenland Ice Sheet, expected to be
a major contributor to projected sea level
rises in coming decades.
"This past melt
season was exceptional, with melting in
some areas stretching up to 50 days longer
than average,” said Dr. Marco Tedesco, Director
of the Cryosphere Processes Laboratory at
the City College of New York (CCNY – CUNY),
who is leading a project studying variables
that affect ice sheet melting.
“Melting in 2010 started
exceptionally early at the end of April
and ended quite late in mid- September.”
The study, with different
aspects sponsored by WWF, the US National
Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA, examined
surface temperature anomalies over the Greenland
ice sheet surface, as well as estimates
of surface melting from satellite data,
ground observations and models.
In an article published
today in Environmental Research Letters,
Dr Tedesco and co-authors note that in 2010,
summer temperatures up to three degrees
C above the average were combined with reduced
snowfall.
The capital of Greenland,
Nuuk, had the warmest spring and summer
since records began in 1873.
Bare ice was exposed
earlier than the average and longer than
previous years, contributing to the extreme
record.
“Bare ice is much darker
than snow and absorbs more solar radiation,”
said Dr Tedesco.
“Other ice melting feedback
loops that we are examining include the
impact of lakes on the glacial surface,
of dust and soot deposited over the ice
sheet and how surface meltwater affects
the flow of the ice toward the ocean.”
WWF
climate specialist Dr. Martin Sommerkorn
said “Sea level rise is expected to top
one metre by 2100, largely due to melting
from ice sheets. And it will not stop there
– the longer we take to limit greenhouse
gas production, the more melting and water
level rise will continue.”
