Langues:
 

Melt of the Greenland Ice Sheet

Greenland Ice Sheet Melt Extent: Seasonal surface melt extent on the Greenland Ice Sheet has been observed by satellite since 1979 and shows an increasing trend. The melt zone, where summer warmth turns snow and ice around the edges of the ice sheet into slush and ponds of meltwater, has been expanding inland and to record high elevations in recent years. When the meltwater seeps down through cracks in the ice sheet, it may accelerate melting and, in some areas, allow the ice to slide more easily over the bedrock below, speeding its movement to the sea. In addition to contributing to global sea-level rise, this process adds freshwater to the ocean, with potential impacts on ocean circulation and thus regional climate.

Melt of the Greenland Ice Sheet

Source : ACIA Impacts of a Warming Arctic: Arctic Climate Impact Assessment  (2004),
 Key Finding #2, p.40

Publication apparentée :
Changement climatique dans l'Arctique Page d'accueil Changement climatique dans l’Arctique
Other Figures & Tables on this publication :

The Earth’s Greenhouse Effect

Observed Arctic Temperature, 1900 to Present

Observed sea ice September 1979 and September 2003

Surface Reflectivity

Projected Vegetation, 2090-2100

Arctic Marine Food Web

Map subregions sub-I

Map subregions sub-II

Map subregions sub-III

Map subregions sub-IV

Arctic Thermohaline Circulation

Carbon cycle in the Arctic

Projected Arctic Surface Air Temperatures

Freshwater food web

Projected opening of northern navigation routes

Factors influencing UV at the surface

1000 years of changes in carbon emissions

People of the Arctic

Projected Surface Air Temperature change 1990-2090

Melt of the Greenland Ice Sheet

Notes de bas de page