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submitted 8 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world

A study of satellite images found that an estimated 11,000 square miles of Greenland’s ice sheet and glaciers have melted over the past 30 years, giving way

Global warming is turning Greenland green.

Parts of Greenland’s ice sheet and glaciers that melted over the past three decades have been replaced by wetlands, shrub vegetation and areas of barren rock, according to a new study that used satellite images to track changes since the 1980s.

The findings, published Tuesday in the journal Scientific Reports, raise concerns about how Greenland’s retreating ice could threaten the stability of the landscape, exacerbate rising sea levels and contribute further greenhouse gas emissions in areas that have turned into methane-producing wetlands.

Greenland is often considered “ground zero” for the climate crisis because even small shifts in temperature can have outsize impacts across the entire Arctic region — and around the world. Scientists have estimated that if the Greenland ice sheet were to melt completely, it could raise global sea levels by more than 23 feet.

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[-] LordWiggle@lemmy.world 21 points 8 months ago

When Greenland is Turing green, we'd have to call it Whiteland or the joke doesn't work anymore.

[-] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 14 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Still not exactly a giant golf course, though. This is the view from my brother's place in Greenland yesterday:

[-] LordWiggle@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago

Wow that looks so beautiful!

[-] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Yeah, it's a gorgeous country! I visited him there a few years ago when he was still living there full time, was a great trip!

[-] LordWiggle@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

As I can't stand heat and don't mind the cold, I should visit as well! It's on my bucket list now :)

[-] prettybunnys@sh.itjust.works 2 points 8 months ago

Ok, what’s your brother do out in Greenland?

[-] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

He teaches economics. He does it via Zoom from home in Denmark most of the year, but still goes back to Greenland for a couple of weeks or 3 a few times a year.

[-] prettybunnys@sh.itjust.works 3 points 8 months ago

That’s pretty neat.

[-] tsuica@lemmy.world 9 points 8 months ago

We're all probably gonna die, but a wrong is being righted here.

[-] mods_are_assholes@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

Not all of us, the rich will be fine in their bunkers till their security guards kill them and then take over.

Ad nauseum till one guard is left with all the women and food.

I'm writing a story about it, like mad max but without the streak of human decency.

[-] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

I think they were referring to the name for a country not being reflective.

[-] Megabazos@lemmy.world 6 points 8 months ago

How are we going to get Iceland covered by ice though...

[-] Resol@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

We'd need to deescalate global warming so much that it literally becomes global cooling.

Although even Greenland would not be green anymore.

[-] mods_are_assholes@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

cheap thermal energy turns Reykjavik into a world-class carbon neutral meth lab and paves the country with it.

Because that's the only ice they're gonna have in half a century.

[-] Siegfried@lemmy.world 1 points 8 months ago

They can start selling iced cakes and make them selves famous for that... I have a few NSFW options aswell

[-] mods_are_assholes@lemmy.world 1 points 8 months ago

And yet still the climate change denial cretins will wag their fingers and lying tongues till no one does anything about it but argue.

[-] DAMunzy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 8 months ago

Those madlads knew what they were doing when they named it!

[-] autotldr@lemmings.world 1 points 8 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


Parts of Greenland’s ice sheet and glaciers that melted over the past three decades have been replaced by wetlands, shrub vegetation and areas of barren rock, according to a new study that used satellite images to track changes since the 1980s.

The findings, published Tuesday in the journal Scientific Reports, raise concerns about how Greenland’s retreating ice could threaten the stability of the landscape, exacerbate rising sea levels and contribute further greenhouse gas emissions in areas that have turned into methane-producing wetlands.

The observed changes are not just bad news for Greenland's ice sheets and glaciers, said Jonathan Carrivick, an Earth scientist at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom and one of the authors of the study.

When ice retreats, the exposed bedrock and new areas of vegetation absorb more of the sun's energy, increasing the temperature of the land surface and exacerbating global warming.

Michael Grimes, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Leeds and lead author of the study, said Greenland's retreating ice and expanding vegetation have important cultural consequences as well, particularly for indigenous populations that rely on these ecosystems for traditional hunting practices.

“Moreover, the loss of ice mass in Greenland is a substantial contributor to global sea level rise,” he said, “a trend that poses significant challenges both now and in the future.”


The original article contains 520 words, the summary contains 220 words. Saved 58%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

this post was submitted on 14 Feb 2024
131 points (98.5% liked)

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