Greenland lost record 532 bn tons of ice in 2019: A million ton per minute

The previous record was set in 2012 when the island lost 464 billion tons of mass from its thick ice sheet

Despite an intense push to curb carbon emission to control climate change, Greenland continues to lose its thick ice cover, raising sea levels and sounding warning bells across nations. The island lost 532 billion tons of ice in 2019 — the highest loss since 1948. Estimates account for the loss at the rate of over 1 million tons for every minute of 2019.

The previous record was set in 2012 when the island lost 464 billion tons of mass from its thick sheet. The five years with the biggest losses all have occurred in the past decade. The new findings were published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.

The record melt will likely raise average global sea level by 1.5 millimeters, enough to cover the entire state of California in more than 4 feet of water, the findings suggested. “What I found interesting is such high variability in the rate of loss for the Greenland Ice Sheet," said Alex Gardner, a researcher at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a co-author of the study.

"The years 2017 and 2018 were relatively mild after a decade of record losses, then 2019 came back to set a new record," he added.

A similar pattern was observed in 2012 when the island lost significant ice mass. (NASA)

Climate change triggers massive ice shedding

Scientists concluded that climate-related changes in weather patterns are a major reason for the large loss of ice sheet. According to glaciologist Ingo Sasgen of the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven, Germany, who led the study, “More and more often, we have stable atmospheric high-pressure systems over the ice sheet, which favours the influx of warmer air from the mid-latitudes, one of the conditions promoting the melt." A similar pattern was observed in 2012 when the island lost significant ice mass.

In 2019, Greenland returned to the pattern more prevalent in recent years — lower rates of snowfall coupled with high atmospheric pressure and warm air — all catalysing the breaking up of the ice.

The ice sheets and glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica are responsible for cooling effect on the planet. Their loss will be detrimental to existence. (Source: Shutterstock)

Sea level rising at 1.6 millimeters per year since 1900

The loss of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctic along with the thermal expansion of the ocean water has accelerated the rise in sea-levels globally. As climate change continues to warm the planet, a majority of this thermal energy is absorbed by the oceans, causing the volume of the water to expand.

A study titled "The Causes of Sea Level Rise Since 1900," which was published in Nature last week revealed that sea levels have risen on an average of 1.6 millimeters per year between 1900 and 2018. The study adds that the sea levels are rising at a faster rate than at any time in the 20th century. Melting of ice sheets and thermal expansion account for nearly two-thirds of observed global mean sea-level rise. While melting mountain glaciers contribute another 20 per cent, declining freshwater storage on land adds the remaining 10 per cent rise in sea levels.

The record melt will likely raise average global sea level by 1.5 millimeters. (Source: Shutterstock)

Twin satellites observe ice movement over 15 years

The loss of the Greenland ice sheet was observed by an international team of scientists, who combined the measurements from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite and the GRACE Follow-On (FO) satellite with computer models that simulate snowfall and ice-sheet melting on Greenland. According to JPL, the twin GRACE satellites measured the gravitational pull exerted by the massive block of ice sheets. As one satellite passed over a gravitational "bump" on Earth's surface, it would speed up just a bit, changing the distance between it and its twin. Precise measurements of these changes would yield the mass of the object below.

The twin GRACE Satellites have been observing the ice movement over Greenland for over a decade. (Source: JPL)

Together, the two GRACE missions provided a record of total yearly changes in ice mass of nearly 20 years, allowing scientists to see significant changes and variations on a year to year basis. Now, GRACE-FO continues to monitor the changes in ice mass since