Update: Just to clarify, the ice sheet melting is the top layer of the ice block, not 97% of the ice in Greenland.
Drastic changes in the environment have been occurring for quite awhile, many attributing the cause to global warming. However, while these transformations usually occur over long periods of time, a recent rapid melting of Greenland‘s ice sheet has left only 3 percent, leaving scientists stunned.
From July 8 to July 12, NASA satellites recorded a 97 percent thaw of the ice. Melting was even seen at Summit Station, the country’s highest and coldest place. Usually, scientist’s would expect a change this drastic to occur over a 150-year period.
“This was so extraordinary that at first I questioned the result: was this real or was it due to data error,” Son Nghiem, a researcher from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, told Digital Trends.
Apparently, the melting was caused by a very warm steam of air that enveloped Greenland. While locals chatted about how sunny it was, the occurrence is actually part of a much larger – and scary – picture.
What are your thoughts on global warming?
[photo via Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason]
