Greenland’s melting is one of the biggest contributors to rising seas, and if its ice were to disappear completely it could raise global sea level by as much as 20 feet.
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New research links Greenland’s 2015 record temperatures and melting with the phenomenon known as Arctic amplification.
The future of the planet depends upon it. In June of 2015, Greenland underwent record levels of melting ice.
The research, led by the universities of Sheffield in the United Kingdom and Columbia in NY, also found that a further effect is exacerbating the Arctic amplification: the rising temperatures are slowing the jet stream. As it melts, however, the dark surface of the ocean absorbs that heat instead of reflecting it, leading to a net increase in heat energy throughout Arctic systems.
According to Thomas Mote from the University of Georgia, past year was remarkable in terms of extensive melting occurring on the northern reaches of the ice sheet, which is a region that normally experiences a modest melt as opposed to the south of Greenland. This leaves the open water which sucks in the sun’s radiation. On April 11, the city of Kangerlussuaq set a record for a high temperature in April when the mercury hit 64 degrees.
Greenland has set a temperature record as its capital city, Nuuk, reaches 75 degrees Fahrenheit in June for the first time in recorded history. This unusual configuration of this jet stream across northern Greenland created this melt pattern.
Northwest Greenland’s summer melt started last June when a high-pressure ridge squeezed off from the jet stream and moved westward over Greenland and hovered over the Arctic Ocean, the study shows. The winds that usually blew from east to west are blowing from west to east. On the other hand, the southern part of the country saw almost the inverse then the north, as there was a higher rate of snow and a lesser degree of melting when compared to previous seasons.
Antarctica is the largest ice sheet in the world.
During last year’s summer, the jet stream went further north than ever.
“The atmospheric changes that are occurring, there is a trend in these quantities, and these quantities are the ones that are also affecting the intensity, and the duration, of the melting over Greenland”, Mr. Tedesco said.
It appears that it is all part of a climate change loop, as Northern Greenland has seen less snow throughout these last years, which contributes towards the country’s ability of solar radiation absorption.
Arctic Amplification is basically the faster warming of the Arctic as compared to the rest of the Northern Hemisphere.
Arctic amplification, resulting from the loss of sea ice, could be driving global warming. “It’s a system, it is strongly interconnected, and we have to approach it as such”.
While no one is sure what effect amplification will have on global climate patterns, simulations suggest that weakening temperature gradients between the poles could cause the jet stream to slow down and veer off its normal course.
“All we can say is that we are on a very bad footing”, he said. “That’s about 5 percent lower than the previous record low, set in May 2004, and more than 10 percent lower than the average sea ice extent from 1981 to 2010”.
“However, we don’t yet have a good understanding of how increased melt in the north might affect surrounding oceans and the dynamics of the ice sheet”. What the melting would be like in 2016, researchers can’t tell, but they can assure that in the next couple of years humans might delve into “uncharted territory”, as our species have not lived similar conditions anytime in the past.
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The paper, “Arctic cut-off high drives the poleward shift of a new Greenland melting record”, is available from the author.
