Clear skies and warm temperatures in 2019 are responsible for the worst year on record for Greenland's vast ice sheet, a study reveals. Therefore, the researchers from Columbia University state, models may be underestimating future melt of the world's second largest ice sheet by around half. Last year, Greenland ice sheet's mass balance — which accounts for melting and snowfall — increased by only 50 billion tons, 320 billion tons less than the average for 1981-2010. However, when researchers also accounted for ice that calves away and drifts into the ocean, it revealed Greenland's ice sheet lost 600 billion tons in mass. The Greenland ice sheet contains enough frozen water to raise sea levels by as much as 23 feet (7m) if it was to disappear entirely.

Source: Daily Mail April 15, 2020 13:08 UTC