The areas of Greenland that are melting are shown in blue.
Click on image for full size
Courtesy of NASA
Greenland is Melting!
News story originally written on July 21, 2000
A seven year study led by NASA has shown that the ice surrounding Greenland is melting.
Scientists now think the best way to study global climate is to monitor the world's largest island.
"Why the ice margins are thinning so rapidly
warrants additional study," says Bill Krabill, project scientist at NASA. "It may
indicate that the coastal margins of ice sheets are capable of
responding more rapidly than we thought to external changes, such
as a warming climate."
Whenever ice melts it contributes to higher sea levels. Scientists say the melting of
Greenland's ice is not threatening, but if the trend continues in other parts of the world, such as Antarctica, we may have problems in the future.
Fortunately, NASA is working on a new satellite, set to launch in 2001, that will monitor these ice regions.
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