Greenland loses more than 5 billion tons of ice over past 20 years

NordenBladet — According to Polar Portal, Greenland has lost more than 5,100 billion tons of ice over the past 20 years, which equals enough water to flood the entire United States in 1.6 feet of water.

Researchers at Polar Portal mentioned that Greenland’s massive ice loss has contributed to the rise in global sea levels by half an inch.

Polar Portal’s data spans between April 2002 and August 2021 and is based on observations made by a fleet of satellites from the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE). According to Polar Portal, the fleet of satellites can measure the changes in gravity around the world and reflect the distribution of mass over time.

The data gathered by GRACE shows that the ice loss is worse by the coast, where the ice meets the ocean.

Andrew Shepherd, a lead study author and climate scientist from the University of Leeds, explains about the loss of ice, “On current trends, Greenland’s ice melting will cause 100 million people to be flooded each year by the end of the century, so 400 million in total due to sea-level rise.”