Grønlandsisen

Grønlandsisen, also known as the Greenland ice sheet, is a vast body of ice covering approximately 1.7 million square kilometers of Greenland. It is the second-largest ice body in the world, surpassed only by the Antarctic ice sheet. The ice sheet holds an immense volume of frozen water, estimated to be around 2.85 million cubic kilometers. If it were to melt entirely, it would raise global sea levels by about 7.2 meters.

The ice sheet is not static. It is constantly being fed by snowfall in its interior and flows outwards towards the coast, where it calves icebergs into the ocean. This dynamic process is crucial for understanding global sea-level rise. Scientists monitor the ice sheet's thickness, flow rate, and mass balance using various techniques, including satellite observations and ground-based measurements.

Research indicates that Grønlandsisen has been losing mass at an accelerating rate in recent decades, primarily due to rising global temperatures. This melting contributes significantly to current sea-level rise. Understanding the processes governing the ice sheet's behavior is therefore vital for climate modeling and predicting future environmental changes. The ice sheet also plays a role in Earth's albedo, reflecting solar radiation and influencing regional and global climate patterns.