The world’s largest island, Greenland, is facing an alarming ice sheet meltdown. The Greenland Ice Sheet, which holds a potential 7.4 meters of average sea level rise, has become a major contributor to rising seas. According to Dr. Twila Moon, Deputy Lead Scientist and Science Communication Liaison at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, the ice sheet may be melting at an unexpectedly fast rate.
In 2024, the ice sheet shrank for the 27th consecutive year, losing an average of 269 billion tons of ice every year since 2002. This is having a devastating impact on North Atlantic ecosystems, as colder freshwater pours into the ocean, disrupting the mixing process and depleting oxygen and nutrients.
The consequences of this melting are far-reaching and global. Sea level rise from ice loss in Greenland touches every shore on the planet, causing health hazards, coastal erosion, land loss, and persistent flooding. The impacts will be felt not just by Canadians living outside of Greenland, but also globally.
Dr. Moon emphasizes that a tipping point for future ice loss has already been crossed, but the pace of this loss is still not set in stone. Every incremental increase in temperature increases risk and damage. Early and strong action is needed to slow down the melting process.
To address this issue, Dr. Moon suggests implementing solutions that influence every tipping point and climate impact. These include burning less oil and gas, reducing food waste, improving home insulation, and removing pollution from our air.
“Benefits in our lifetime are possible,” Dr. Moon states. “We can realize a future where we consistently remove heat-trapping gases from our air, potentially even stabilizing or regrowing the Greenland Ice Sheet in future millennia.”
The time for action is now. With the right solutions and collective effort, it’s possible to curve the scale of the system towards stabilization and recovery.
Source: https://environmentjournal.ca/too-hot-to-handle-melting-ice-sheets-under-the-microscope