Our overheating planet has exposed an additional 1,000 miles of Greenland’s coastline.
What’s happening?
A recent study by a team of scientists from Poland, Canada, Czechia, and the United States analyzed satellite imagery of the Northern Hemisphere from 2000 to 2020 to record changes to coastlines as sheets of ice noticeably shrank on our overheating planet.
“In adding them all together, they found that 2,466 kilometers of coastline have been exposed over just the past 20 years,” according to a summary of the report in Phys.org. “They also found that approximately 66% of that newly exposed coastline was in Greenland.”
While there have been other studies that have revealed Greenland is undergoing the highest rate of glacier loss in the hemisphere, this one stands out for the way its researchers are monitoring that loss. This latest study looks at land that is being exposed as the country’s ice melts.
“Accelerated climate warming has caused the majority of marine-terminating glaciers in the Northern Hemisphere to retreat substantially during the 21st century,” the study concluded. “Retreating glaciers and associated newly exposed coastline can have important impacts on local ecosystems and Arctic communities.”
Why is an increase in exposed coastline in Greenland important?
“The retreat of marine-terminating glaciers not only alters the landscape but simultaneously poses an indirect risk to local communities and economic activities in the coastal zone,” the study noted. “Regions around marine-terminating glaciers have an enhanced susceptibility to landslide-triggered tsunamis; for example, the one recorded on 17 June 2017 in Greenland, which caused substantial infrastructure damage and loss of life.”
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Over the past four decades, the Arctic has warmed up to four times faster than the rest of the planet. Scientists call this phenomenon Arctic amplification. This rapid warming is causing Greenland’s ice sheet to thin dramatically, according to a study published in December.
What’s being done about the rapid warming happening in the Arctic?
According to the National Centers for Environmental Information’s global climate report, the Arctic experienced the most warming of any region in February. With an extent of 5.3 million square miles, Arctic sea ice hit in that month a record low in the satellite era. The global sea ice extent for February was again well below average, continuing a trend from each of the past 10 years.
Building back ice in the Arctic will take a concerted effort and a massive move away from dirty energy, which releases heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere, to safe, renewable energy sources. We can help by donating directly to climate causes and using our purchasing power for good by supporting brands that are fighting for our planet’s future.
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