Graph of the Day: Greenland Ice sheet Cumulative Mass Anomaly, 2003-2008

Cumulative SMB-D anomaly (2003–2008) and comparison with GRACE data (18). Short horizontal lines indicate GRACE uncertainty, dashed lines the linear trends. GRACE values are not absolute numbers, and the curve has been vertically shifted for clarity. The scatter plot in the inset shows a direct linear regression between the monthly GRACE values as a function […]

Greenland ice cap melting faster than ever

Satellite observations and a state-of-the art regional atmospheric model have independently confirmed that the Greenland ice sheet is loosing mass at an accelerating rate, reports a new study in Science. This mass loss is equally distributed between increased iceberg production, driven by acceleration of Greenland’s fast-flowing outlet glaciers, and increased meltwater production at the ice […]

Graph of the Day: Seasonal Melt Departure and Maximum Temperature Anomaly in Greenland, 1973-2007

(a) Seasonal Melt Departure (SMD) for June-August and (b) seasonal maximum daily temperature anomalies at three coastal meteorological stations in Greenland for June-August from 1973 to 2007 (Mote 2007). The recent marked retreat, thinning, and acceleration of most of Greenland’s outlet glaciers south of 70° N has increased concerns over contributions from the Greenland Ice […]

Graph of the Day: Retreat of Jakobshavn Glacier, 1851-2009

Jakobshavn Glacier in western Greenland has been rapidly losing ice from its terminus for more than a decade due to warm water currents reaching up the fjord. The arrow indicates direction of discharge, while the glacier retreats back towards the Greenland Ice Sheet. Another study focused on western Greenland’s Jakobshavn Isbrae responsible for draining 7 […]

Last time carbon dioxide levels were this high: 15 million years ago

You must go back 15 million years to find carbon dioxide levels as high as they are today, Earth scientists report. “The last time carbon dioxide levels were apparently as high as they are today and sustained at those levels, global temperatures were five to 10 degrees Fahrenheit higher than they are today,” said Aradhna […]

Graph of the Day: Rate of Change of Surface Elevation for Antarctica and Greenland, 2003-2007

Change measurements are median filtered (10-km radius), spatially averaged (5-km radius) and gridded to 3 km, from intervals (Dt) of at least 365 d, over the period 2003–2007 (mean Dt is 728 d for Antarctica and 746 d for Greenland). East Antarctic data cropped to 2,500-m altitude. White dashed line (at 81.5° S) shows southern […]

Ancient glaciers are disappearing faster than ever

  By Michael McCarthy environment editor Melting ice is pouring off Greenland and Antarctica into the sea far faster than was previously realised because of global warming, new scientific research reveals today. The accelerating loss from the world’s two great land-based ice sheets means a rise in sea levels is likely to happen even more […]

As its glaciers melt, Greenland to industrialize and emit 10 million tons of CO2 per year

You might think that one of the world’s foremost examples of the impact of climate change would be deterred from making exceptionally pollution-heavy plans for development. You’d be wrong. Despite the fact that global warming is causing its important glaciers to melt astonishingly fast, Greenland is on track to become one of the world’s most […]

Graph of the Day: Arctic Sea Ice Thickness in 2003 and 2008

If current melting trends continue, the Arctic Ocean is likely to be free of summer sea ice by 2015, according to research presented at a conference organized by the National Space Institute at Technical University of Denmark, the Danish Meteorological Institute and the Greenland Climate Center. The estimates, which are consistent with some models presented […]

The Sermilik fjord in Greenland: a chilling view of a warming world

‘We all live on the Greenland ice sheet now. Its fate is our fate’ By Patrick Barkham at Sermilik fjord, Greenland It is calving season in the Arctic. A flotilla of icebergs, some as jagged as fairytale castles and others as smooth as dinosaur eggs, calve from the ice sheet that smothers Greenland and sail […]

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