Greenland Glacier shattered, a clear sign of climate change

Greenland's ice shelves are constantly shattered over time, a sign that climate change is having a negative impact on the ocean, causing sea levels to rise rapidly.

At the time Lucas Jackson, a Reuters photojournalist, opened the phone to call his relatives from Greenland's Helheim glacier, a loud explosion rang out to awaken the still space of the Arctic. At that moment, the Helheim glacier cracked, the crack widened, pushing part of the glacier towards the ocean. Helheim Glacier Cracking is the latest evidence of an increasingly serious climate change, which Greenland is one of the most pronounced victims.

To improve the effectiveness of sea level rise efforts, NASA launched Greenland's Oceans Melting project (OMG), studying the impact of seawater warming on ice shelves and glaciers at the two poles. In the picture, an iceberg floats in the Greenland Sea.

With a budget of US $ 30 million, the OMG project expects to clarify how Greenland's melting situation affects the rise of the sea. Information and data obtained can be applied to study the melting situation in other regions, namely Antarctica, where the ice is bigger and plays an important role in the rise of seawater. In the picture, ice melted into patches on the glacier in Greenland.

Sea level rise is a threat to territories, the city is located in the coastal plain, islands and densely populated areas around the world. However, the forecast of the speed and severity of sea level rise is not uniform, there are many differences between individuals and research organizations because scientists do not have enough information about the speed of warm seawater. Thawing at two poles. In the picture, a crack appears in the glacier in Greenland.

Currently, the ice melt in Greenland is the most serious. The amount of melting ice in this area alone causes seawater to rise by almost 1cm per year, the most in the world.

According to a report by the American Geophysical Association, a 50cm of sea level rise will submerge the habitat of 90 million people in China, Vietnam and Bangladesh. The report also said that by 2100, strong storms like super typhoon Sandy, which caused US $ 70 billion in damage, would occur 17 times more frequently than it is now.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said the severity of sea level rise, from now until 2100, depends greatly on the determination and ability to reduce pollution emissions through the use of energy. fossils. Using fossil energy is recognized as the main cause of environmental pollution in the 20th century.

Greenland is currently one of the most clearly seen areas of climate change impacts and global warming. In June, a 6.5km-wide glacier was separated from the Helheim glacier, broken into small pieces, the phenomenon was judged by the high sea temperature.

The same situation, even worse than what happened in Helheim, is expected to happen in Antarctica. The IPCC warns that ice melting in Antarctica alone could cause sea level rise of 50cm to the end of the 21st century. This process is considered "irreversible catastrophe".