Greenland Island is melting at a rate of

Satellite measurements indicate the melting of the ice sheet in Greenland Island is happening at a very fast rate. According to satellite data from the US Space Agency (NASA), the melting speed of ice has increased rapidly since 2004.

(Photo: spiegel.de)

If the ice caps completely disappear, the global sea level will rise to 6.5m (equivalent to 21 feet).

A group of American scientists wrote in Science magazine that most of the melting ice is east of Greenland Island.

Dr. Jianli Chen of the University of Texas at Austin and colleagues studied the monthly changes of earth gravity from April 2002 to November 2005.

Measurements are obtained from Grace satellites (climate test satellites and gravitation determinations). This satellite of the US space agency was launched in 2002. (Grace satellite collects data by chasing each other in orbit. When the first satellite moves through an irregular gravitational field of Earth, defense The second crystal follows after a distance of 220 km, measuring the gravitational field's variation to one thousandth of a millimeter, the degree of change that the two satellites detect describes the nature and scale of the abnormalities. gravity on the areas through which they pass.)

From these data, they can calculate the volume changes of the Greenland Islands ice sheet.

There are many factors that contribute to abnormal changes in earth gravity.

But once the influence of air and ocean is removed, the abnormal variation of earth gravity almost reflects the change in the mass of ice and water stored on the ground.

The change in the monthly mass of the Greenland ice sheet is calculated to show that the ice sheet is melting at a rate of about 239 km3 (57.3 cubic miles) per year.

This figure is three times higher than previously calculated data on the volume of ice lost in Greenland using the first two years of GRACE satellite measurements.

Data from satellites

Dr. Chen and his colleagues partly said that this was due to the increase in melting in the past year and a half, and partly that it was due to better data processing.

He and his colleagues wrote in the journal Science that "the rapid increase in ice mass rate in Greenland Island, if the rate of mass loss of this ice sheet may have happened, coincides closely with the Earth's temperature rise is given in recent years "

This means contributing to increasing Greenland Island's sea level by about half a millimeter (0.02 inches) per year.

The findings of these scientists coincide remarkably with an earlier study this year, which uses data from other satellites to also calculate changes in the ice sheet at Greeenland island.

GRACE satellite also seems to have discovered ice loss in the Arctic glacier. Previous research has ignored this problem and the ice loss in the Arctic glacier also occurs separately from the main ice sheet on Greenland.

Greenland Glacier is one of the fastest flowing glaciers in the world today.

Greenland map (Photo: wikipedia)

According to BBC - Greenland (also called Green Island; Greenland: Kalaallit Nunaat; Danish: Grønland) is an Danish territory and is the largest island in the world.

Basic data :

· Area of ​​2.166.086 km²

· Population (2005) is about 56,375 people, density is 0.025 people / km²

· Language: Greenland, Danish

Residential

Population (2005) is about 56,375 people, density is 0.025 people / km², of which 85% are Inuit people, the rest are Danish and Kavbaz people (Capcase).

Geographical location

It is bounded by the Arctic Ocean to the north, Greenland Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the south and the Davis Strait and Baffin Bay to the south.

Topographic

Most of the island's surface is hilly, surrounded by a thick layer of ice, except for the coastal section with an area of ​​410,450 km². Some places cover up to 4,300 m thick.

About 81% of Greenland's surface is covered with ice, known as the Greenland ice cap.