A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals a troubling melting trend in Greenland’s Petermann Glacier. Researchers studying the glacier have discovered that if similar processes are occurring elsewhere, current estimates of sea-level rise caused by shrinking glaciers may need to be doubled. Warmer seawater moving in and out with the tides has created a 670-foot cavity beneath the ice, equivalent to the height of two stacked Statues of Liberty. Water is seeping beneath the ice at the grounding line, where the glacier on land meets the floating portion, and this process occurs multiple times a day, causing an acceleration in the melting process.
\MORE INFO: Smith Sonian Magazine
\IMAGES FROM: Smith Sonian Magazine
