Greenland’s Melting Ice Nears a ‘Tipping Point,’ Scientists Say
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/21/climate/greenland-ice.html
Source: By John Schwartz, The New York Times.
Excerpt: Greenland’s enormous ice sheet is melting at such an accelerated rate that it may have reached a “tipping point,” and could become a major factor in sea-level rise around the world within two decades, scientists said in a study published on Monday. The Arctic is warming at twice the average rate of the rest of the planet.... The authors found that ice loss in 2012, more than 400 billion tons per year, was nearly four times the rate in 2003. ...The study is the latest in a series of papers published this month suggesting that scientific estimates of the effects of a warming planet have been, if anything, too conservative. Just a week ago, a separate study [https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2019/01/08/18128831] of ice loss in Antarctica found that the continent is contributing more to rising sea levels than previously thought. Another new analysis suggested that the oceans are warming far faster than earlier estimates [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/10/climate/ocean-warming-climate-change.html]. Warming oceans are currently the leading cause of sea-level rise, since water expands as it warms. Researchers said these findings underscored the need for action to curb emissions of planet-warming gases and avoid the worst effects of climate change. ...Current projections say that if the planet warms by two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over preindustrial times, average sea levels will rise by more than two feet, and 32 million to 80 million people will be exposed to coastal flooding....
Source: By John Schwartz, The New York Times.
Excerpt: Greenland’s enormous ice sheet is melting at such an accelerated rate that it may have reached a “tipping point,” and could become a major factor in sea-level rise around the world within two decades, scientists said in a study published on Monday. The Arctic is warming at twice the average rate of the rest of the planet.... The authors found that ice loss in 2012, more than 400 billion tons per year, was nearly four times the rate in 2003. ...The study is the latest in a series of papers published this month suggesting that scientific estimates of the effects of a warming planet have been, if anything, too conservative. Just a week ago, a separate study [https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2019/01/08/18128831] of ice loss in Antarctica found that the continent is contributing more to rising sea levels than previously thought. Another new analysis suggested that the oceans are warming far faster than earlier estimates [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/10/climate/ocean-warming-climate-change.html]. Warming oceans are currently the leading cause of sea-level rise, since water expands as it warms. Researchers said these findings underscored the need for action to curb emissions of planet-warming gases and avoid the worst effects of climate change. ...Current projections say that if the planet warms by two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over preindustrial times, average sea levels will rise by more than two feet, and 32 million to 80 million people will be exposed to coastal flooding....