Greenland’s Ice Sheet Shrinks Significantly, Losing Area Equivalent to Trinidad and Tobago!

January 17, 2024: A new study published in the journal Nature reveals that the Greenland Ice Sheet has experienced a substantial loss of 5,091 sq km (1930 sq miles) between 1985 and 2022. This marks the first comprehensive estimate of ice sheet-wide area loss on such a scale.

The reduction in area corresponds to the loss of 1,034 gigatonnes (1.034 trillion kg) of ice, primarily due to glacial retreat. Glaciers have been retreating and shedding ice through a process known as “calving,” where chunks of ice break off from the glacier’s terminating ends.

The study is groundbreaking as it provides the first complete estimate of ice loss specifically attributed to glacial retreat. Previous assessments of the Greenland Ice Sheet’s mass balance, which compares the accumulation of snow and ice to the amount lost, may have underestimated losses by up to 20%, largely ignoring the impact of glacial retreat.

The lost area of 5,091 sq km is approximately equivalent to the size of the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. The research utilized over 200,000 satellite and AI observations of glacier positions to analyze changes over time.

“In Greenland, we have these areas around the edges where everything is just kind of retreating and crumbling,” explained study co-author Alex Gardner, an earth scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “The previous methods weren’t really that great at measuring that change in the ice sheet. But the change is huge.”

The Greenland Ice Sheet, one of the world’s two remaining ice sheets, covers around 80% of Greenland’s landmass and, if fully melted, could raise global sea levels by about 7.4 meters (23 feet).

While the new estimate’s impact on global sea levels is deemed minimal, scientists highlight its potential significant effect on ocean circulation. The influx of freshwater into the salty ocean could strengthen coastal currents around Greenland and potentially weaken the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, a crucial system that redistributes warmth from north to south and influences Europe’s climate.