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Update: 2009/09/17 15:35 By Wang Dai-li (AFP, Paris, 16th)
A study released today indicates that over the past 10,000 years, the Greenland ice sheet has melted at a rate beyond expectations due to global warming.
The report suggests that even a moderate rise in temperatures this century could trigger the disintegration of continent-sized ice masses at an alarming pace.
The study warns: "If Greenland's temperature rises by a few degrees Celsius in the future, it is highly likely to cause massive melting of the Greenland ice sheet, leading to a faster rise in sea levels than previously predicted."
Greenland holds enough water to raise global sea levels by approximately 7 meters. Even a slight increase would submerge major coastal cities and displace hundreds of millions of people.
Until recently, experts believed that despite global warming, the Earth's two largest ice sheets—Greenland and Antarctica—would remain largely stable over the coming centuries.
However, recent studies have cast doubt on this assumption, showing that glacier loss from these ice sheets has accelerated in recent decades.
The report, published in the British scientific journal *Nature*, employs new techniques to measure changes in the ice sheet over the past 10,000 years. (Translator: Wang Dai-li, Central News Agency)
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ art……url/ d/ a/ 090917/ 19/ 1rad8. html
Study: Greenland Ice Sheet Melting Faster Than Thought
A study released today indicates that over the past 10,000 years, the Greenland ice sheet has melted at a rate beyond expectations due to global warming.
The report suggests that even a moderate rise in temperatures this century could trigger the disintegration of continent-sized ice masses at an alarming pace.
The study warns: "If Greenland's temperature rises by a few degrees Celsius in the future, it is highly likely to cause massive melting of the Greenland ice sheet, leading to a faster rise in sea levels than previously predicted."
Greenland holds enough water to raise global sea levels by approximately 7 meters. Even a slight increase would submerge major coastal cities and displace hundreds of millions of people.
Until recently, experts believed that despite global warming, the Earth's two largest ice sheets—Greenland and Antarctica—would remain largely stable over the coming centuries.
However, recent studies have cast doubt on this assumption, showing that glacier loss from these ice sheets has accelerated in recent decades.
The report, published in the British scientific journal *Nature*, employs new techniques to measure changes in the ice sheet over the past 10,000 years. (Translator: Wang Dai-li, Central News Agency)
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ art……url/ d/ a/ 090917/ 19/ 1rad8. html