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Glaciers melting |
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Greenland
Rapid thinning of the Greenland ice sheet in coastal areas, especially of outlet glaciers, has been measured in two studies during the 1990s. The coastal land ice loss is attributed to a combination of warming-driven factors, including increased melting during warmer summers, high snow accumulation rates feeding the outlet glaciers, and increased rates of melting at the bottom of glaciers due to ocean warming.
Reference: Krabill, W., W. Abdalati, E. Frederick, S. Manizade, C. Martin, J. Sonntag, R. Swift, R. Thomas, W. Wright, and J. Yungel, 2000. Greenland Ice Sheet: High-Elevation Balance and Peripheral Thinning. Science, 289: 428-430.
Rignot, Eric and Robert H. Thomas, 2002. Mass balance of polar ice sheets. Science, 297: 1502-1506.
