Record Greenland Melting Caused by Surprising Feedback Loop
As Arctic sea ice extent hits a record May low, a new study shows how melting changes Greenland's weather, with far-reaching consequences.
Two days after Arctic sea ice hit a new record low extent for May, a new study hints at how this accelerating trend could make melting in Greenland even worse, with serious consequences for global climate and sea level rise.
Satellite observations published by the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center on Tuesday reveal that Arctic sea ice covered an area of just 4.63 million square miles (12 million square kilometers). That’s about 5 percent lower than the previous record low, set in May 2004, and more than 10 percent lower than the average sea ice extent from 1981 to 2010.
“It’s pretty worrisome,” says climate scientist Jennifer Francis of Rutgers University. “We’re in uncharted territory, in terms of
