Scientists estimate that the world's second largest ice sheet could disappear by the middle of the 21st century.
The fact that the Greenland ice sheet is melting has been known for a long time, but only now an international team of scientists discovered that it could completely disappear by the middle of the century.
All the fault of the lakes, which are formed on the surface of the glacier. Under the influence of global warming, they rapidly expand and merge into larger sources. Water seeps to the base of the shield and, by transferring heat, stimulates destruction from within. Because of this, cracks are formed, which accelerate the flow of other lakes. According to the researchers, such a chain reaction can speed up ice melting by 400 percent. One of the band members, Paul Kristofferson of Cambridge University, confirmed:
“This ice sheet, which covers 1.7 square kilometers, was relatively stable 25 years ago, but now it is losing a billion tons per day. This increases the level of the World Ocean by a millimeter every year, which is much faster than the predictions made several years ago."
Crack Research / Poul Christoffersen.
Environmentalists argue that the core of the glacier would never have been directly exposed to heat if it were not for the lakes that formed. Their appearance used to take several weeks or even months, but now they appear in a matter of hours.
Union of Lakes / Timo Lieber.
To make a more detailed forecast, scientists have created a 3D model, which is based on observational data obtained in recent years. One of the proposed scenarios showed that up to 124 lakes can flow out in five days, and the length of their networks reaches 135 kilometers. These data suggest that the entire Greenland ice sheet could completely melt by the middle of the 21st century. Kristofferson added:
Promotional video:
“This movement of water from surface to base accelerates an already fast chain reaction. In one case, we saw how all 59 lakes, except one, collapsed after another cascading event."
The effects of global warming are being experienced by different countries. In China, for example, scientists are worried about environmental degradation, which threatens the country with increasing impact.
Alexey Evglevsky
