Greenland has lost vast amount of ice
and it's melting faster, study finds
By Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff on 01.05.16
Word Count 619
A melting iceberg floats along a fjord leading away from the edge of the Greenland ice sheet near Nuuk, Greenland, July
26, 2011. Photo: AP/Brennan Linsley
As the planet has been getting warmer, ice near the North and South Poles has started to
melt. In Greenland, a huge island in the north, ice is melting fast.
A new study tried to figure out exactly how much Greenland ice has melted. It was
published in the magazine Nature. The scientists behind the study report that 9,103
gigatons of ice have melted in Greenland since 1900.
A gigaton is a billion metric tons. The Statue of Liberty weighs about 200 metric tons. A
single gigaton weighs about the same as 5 million Statues of Liberty.
Estimating how much ice had melted was not easy. The scientists looked at several
different kinds of information. They examined photos taken from airplanes between 1978
and 1987, and newer photos taken from space since 1983.
First Study To Look At Greenland's Melting
Looking at all of the information they could find, the scientists could guess how much ice
had melted in Greenland over the last 110 years. The study was the first of its kind.
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The scientists were also able to track when and where ice melted. They found that the ice
in Greenland has started to melt more quickly in recent years.
The amount of ice loss doubled from 2003 to 2010 compared with the ice loss from 1900 to
1999. Between 2003 and 2010, an average of 186 gigatons of ice melted each year. Other
scientists think that even more ice than that is melting.
Melting ice is a concern because it makes the sea level go up. As the global temperature
has gradually increased, ice all over the world has started to melt. When the ice melts, it
adds more water to the oceans. Oceans then rise. Water may start to overflow, creeping
higher onto the land.
Sea Level Rising
The amount of ice that has melted in Greenland has already increased the sea level. As ice
starts melting faster, the problem may get worse.
Scientists think that ice is melting faster now because of global warming. Global warming
is the change that is occurring with the Earth's average temperature. Burning fossil fuels,
like oil and gas, has released greenhouse gasses, which warms the Earth.
Greenland has been losing ice in a few main areas. Much ice has melted on the northwest
and southeast areas of the ice sheet. The ice sheet is the blanket of ice that covers most of
the island. Ice has also been melting from the Jakobshavn glacier in the southwest,
Greenland's single fastest-moving glacier. A glacier is huge block of moving snow and ice.
However, scientists noticed that ice is now melting in other parts of Greenland. The
northeast of the ice sheet has started to melt as well. There are two glaciers there that
protect much of the rest of Greenland's ice.
More Melting Ice Could Mean Disaster
With so much ice melting in Greenland, scientists were able to measure the effect on the
sea level. They think that ice loss in Greenland has added about an inch to the world's
oceans.
An inch may not sound like much. Spread over the entire globe, though, it is an enormous
amount of water. If Greenland's ice keeps melting, it could become a disaster. If all of the
island's ice melted, it would make the oceans rise about 20 feet.
The key for the future of Greenland's ice comes down to global warming. The big question
is how high global temperatures will rise and how long they will stay there.
Recently, world leaders met in Paris, France, to discuss global warming. They agreed to try
to keep the Earth from getting too hot. Hopefully they will do enough to prevent
Greenland's ice from melting.
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Quiz
1
2
3
Which answer BEST describes the findings reported in the new study?
(A)
Greenland's ice is melting in only two of its main areas.
(B)
Greenland's ice is melting at a faster rate in recent years.
(C)
Greenland has been losing ice since between 2003 and 2010.
(D)
Greenland's ice loss may have a connection with a warmer climate.
Why is it important to keep Greenland's ice from melting?
(A)
Melting ice makes the sea levels rise across the world.
(B)
Melting ice causes greenhouse gases to go up.
(C)
Melting ice causes icebergs in the ocean.
(D)
Melting ice makes the temperature in Greenland colder.
Read the section "More Melting Ice Could Mean Disaster."
Choose the word below that defines the word "mean" in the section title.
4
(A)
express
(B)
design
(C)
cause
(D)
plan
Read the sentence from the section "Sea Level Rising."
Global warming is the change that is occurring with the Earth's
average temperature.
According to the sentence, what does "change" mean?
(A)
decrease
(B)
variety
(C)
stability
(D)
increase
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Answer Key
1
2
3
Which answer BEST describes the findings reported in the new study?
(A)
Greenland's ice is melting in only two of its main areas.
(B)
Greenland's ice is melting at a faster rate in recent years.
(C)
Greenland has been losing ice since between 2003 and 2010.
(D)
Greenland's ice loss may have a connection with a warmer climate.
Why is it important to keep Greenland's ice from melting?
(A)
Melting ice makes the sea levels rise across the world.
(B)
Melting ice causes greenhouse gases to go up.
(C)
Melting ice causes icebergs in the ocean.
(D)
Melting ice makes the temperature in Greenland colder.
Read the section "More Melting Ice Could Mean Disaster."
Choose the word below that defines the word "mean" in the section title.
4
(A)
express
(B)
design
(C)
cause
(D)
plan
Read the sentence from the section "Sea Level Rising."
Global warming is the change that is occurring with the Earth's
average temperature.
According to the sentence, what does "change" mean?
(A)
decrease
(B)
variety
(C)
stability
(D)
increase
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.
4