Greenland Meltdown: 101 Gigatons/Year

It has been known for some time that the ice covering Greenland - a layer up to 3000 meters thick - is melting around its coastal edges. But at the same time, it has been building inland due to relatively heavy snowfall during winters.

Up until now, there has been much uncertainty about the rate and even direction of change in the total ice mass. But a study from NASA using satellites to measure the gravity pull of the ice (and thus its total mass) has now shown that the net average loss of ice during the years 2003 - 2005 is 101 gigatons. For those unfamiliar with gigatons: 1 gigaton equals a billion metric tons. A metric ton equals 1,000 kilos, or 2.205 pounds. So in layman terms, as one liter of fresh ice water weighs 1 kilo, we are talking about 101,000,000,000,000 liters melting from the Greenland ice and flowing off into the North Atlantic. Annually.

Why does it matter? Mainly because 1) it points to the Greenland ice sheet melting at an increasing rate, which is an expected effect of global warming, and 2) as this ice is lodged on land its melting into the sea will make the sea level rise.

How much ice is there on Greenland? Enough to raise sea levels world wide by 7 meters (21 feet).