It is believed that human activities are the main cause of global warming. The industries have contributed to the release of greenhouse gases. The current levels of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere are higher than 800,000 years ago.
A high level of these gases causes our atmosphere to trap more heat, thus changing our climate. Global warming also caused some other problems to occur such as extreme weather events, shifting wildlife habitats, including the melting of glaciers in Greenland.
It is reported in a study that glaciers in Greenland have passed “point of no return” where the glaciers will keep on melting even if global warming had stopped. The experts found that the glaciers are melting faster. Consequently, this condition makes the glacier harder to become a more stable position.
Michalea King, a scientist from Ohio State University stated that there is more ice that is discharging into the ocean, surpassing the amount of ice sheet accumulated on the surface.
From the study, they found that 500 billion tons of ice melt each year but the volume of snowfall has not increased since the year 2000. This shows that Greenland is losing more ice than it is being replaced. It is also estimated that Greenland will only have gain in the mass of ice sheets once in every century because of the current condition.
The melting of Greenland’s ice sheet had caused the ocean levels to rise by 2.2 millimeters in a single two-month period.
King said that the study about glacier environments can improve the predictions of the changes in the environment in the future.
Sources: National Geographic, dailymail.co.uk