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Sunday, November 21, 2010

NYT: Restless Ice -- Greenland's glaciers accelerating

Dear Readers,

Please go to this link at the New York Times while it is still free to access their articles:


Sorry about formatting problems -- they began a couple of days ago. This is just an ordinary blogspot blog, nothing fancy, so I have no idea how to fix them.


Restless Ice



Researchers studying Greenland note that its massive ice sheet appears to have become less stable. The movement of some glaciers has doubled or tripled in speed recently, possibly because of human-induced climate change. If the trend worsens, melting ice and icebergs falling into the ocean could raise global sea levels substantially.

Circles show quakes through 2005
Kangerdlugssuaq and Helheim Glaciers have had more glacial earthquakes since 1993 than any other glaciers in Greenland.
Dotted lines highlight the boundaries between Greenland’s major ice drainage basins. Snow falling inside a boundary will flow to the sea within the same boundary.

Helheim Glacier

This large glacier in southeastern Greenland had a recent increase in speed, which was paired with a thinning of its ice front.
Helheim Glacier empties into Sermilik Fjord, where temperature measurements reveal deep layers of warm water, which may be melting the glacier from below and increasing iceberg calving.

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