Greenland's ice has melted beyond return, study suggests

It will now gain mass only once every 100 years, and if all the ice melts, it would push sea levels up by roughly six metres.

Image: Scientists have long been concerned about the future of Greenland
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Greenland's ice sheet may have melted beyond the point of return, with the ice likely to disappear no matter how quickly the world reduces climate-warming emissions, research suggests.

Ohio State University scientists studied 234 glaciers in the Arctic territory for 34 years until 2018.

They found that annual snowfall was no longer enough to replenish glaciers of the snow and ice being lost to summertime melting, which is already causing global seas to rise about a millimetre on average per year.

Tracy glacier is seen in this satellite handout image from Greenland, September 7, 2018, provided by Maxar Technologies on August 14, 2020. Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES MANDATORY CREDIT
Image: The melting was revealed in satellite images. Pic: Maxar Technologies

If Greenland's ice goes, the water released would push sea levels up by an average of six metres - enough to swamp many coastal cities around the world.

Co-researcher and glaciologist Ian Howat said Greenland "is going to be the canary in the coal mine, and the canary is already pretty much dead at this point".

Scientists have long worried about Greenland's fate, given the amount of water locked into the ice.

The Arctic has been warming at least twice as fast as the rest of the world for 30 years, while the polar sea ice hit its lowest extent for July in 40 years.

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Through studying satellite images, the new study found the territory's ice sheet will now gain mass only once every 100 years.

Co-author and glaciologist Michalea King said the sobering findings should spur governments to prepare for sea-level rise, adding "things that happen in the polar regions don't stay in the polar regions".

But she said containing the global temperature rise can still slow the rate of ice loss.

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Greenland is far from the only country rapidly losing its glaciers and moisture.

Canada's last intact ice shelf broke apart into hulking iceberg islands in late July due to a hot summer and global warming, scientists recently revealed.

An iceberg floats near Bonavista in the early morning of July 7, 2019 in Newfoundland, Canada. - Iceberg water, considered pure, is now marketing for a unique sector of high-end products. "We are trying to target the niche market for healthy foods and products," says former fisherman Edward Kean, an iceberg hunter. For 20 years, he has been cruising the North Atlantic aboard his fishing boat to retrieve chunks of ice to melt and sell the water to local traders. Customers include manufacturers of
Image: Canada's ice has also severely suffered from global warming

Satellite images showed that about 43% of the 4,000-year-old Milne Ice Shelf on the northwestern edge of Ellesmere Island had snapped off.

Meanwhile, scientists have warned that summer heatwaves and minimal rainfall have sucked eastern Germany's lakelands dry, harming fish and plants.

Seddiner Lake, in the state of Brandenburg, south-west of Berlin, has sunk 60cm annually on average over the past few years, with local geographer Knut Kaiser calling it the "beginning of the end for the region's lakes".