The area of ice loss in Greenland over the past three decades is about 36 times the size of New York City, an area that is rapidly giving way to wetlands and shrubs, a study published Tuesday shows.
The amount of vegetation in Greenland doubled between the mid-1980s and mid-2010s as parts of the country that were once covered in ice and snow became barren cliffs, wetlands or scrub. Wetlands alone quadrupled during that time.
By analyzing satellite imagery, scientists found that Greenland had lost 28,707 square kilometers (about 11,000 square miles) of ice over three decades and warned of a cascade impacts that could have significant implications for climate change and sea level. growth.
Warmer air temperatures caused the ice to melt, which in turn caused land temperatures to rise. This has caused the melting of permafrost, the frozen layer just below the Earth's surface found across much of the Arctic, and that melting is releasing planet-warming carbon dioxide and methane, contributing to even more global warming. Melting permafrost also causes land instability, which can affect infrastructure and buildings.
The loss of ice creates what is called a feedback loop. Snow and ice typically reflect solar energy back into space, preventing excessive heating in some parts of the Earth. But as ice disappears, these areas absorb more solar energy, raising the temperature of the earth's surface, which can cause further melting and other negative effects.
Melting ice also increases the amount of water in lakes, where water absorbs more heat than snow, which increases the temperature of the land surface.
Since the 1970s, Greenland has warmed at twice the global average rate, and the study authors warn that more extreme temperatures are likely in the future.
Greenland is the world's largest island, much of it covered by ice and glaciers . The country, which is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, has a population of approximately 57,000 people. Much of the population is indigenous, and many people rely on natural ecosystems for their survival.
Michael Grimes, lead author of the report, said the flow of sediment and nutrients into coastal waters was particularly problematic for indigenous communities, which rely on the fishery, as well as for hunters in other parts of the island.
“These changes are critical, especially for the indigenous people, whose traditional subsistence hunting practices depend on the stability of these fragile ecosystems,” he said.< /p>
“Moreover, the loss of ice mass in Greenland is a significant contributor to global sea level rise, a trend that poses serious problems both now and in the future.”
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