Meltdown
By ALICIA CHANG
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Two of Greenland's largest glaciers are retreating at an alarming pace, most likely because of climate warming, scientists said Wednesday.
One of the glaciers, Kangerdlugssuaq, is currently moving about 9 miles a year compared to 3 miles a year in 2001, said Gordon Hamilton of the University of Maine's Climate Change Institute.
The other glacier, Helheim, is retreating at about 7 miles a year - up from 4 miles a year during the same period.
"It's quite a staggering rate of increase," Hamilton said at the American Geophysical Union annual meeting.
Glaciers play a major role in discharging water into oceans. Sea levels have swelled globally an estimated 4 inches to 8 inches during the past century due to melting glaciers and polar ice - enough to cause some places to be awash at high tide or during severe storms.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Two of Greenland's largest glaciers are retreating at an alarming pace, most likely because of climate warming, scientists said Wednesday.
One of the glaciers, Kangerdlugssuaq, is currently moving about 9 miles a year compared to 3 miles a year in 2001, said Gordon Hamilton of the University of Maine's Climate Change Institute.
The other glacier, Helheim, is retreating at about 7 miles a year - up from 4 miles a year during the same period.
"It's quite a staggering rate of increase," Hamilton said at the American Geophysical Union annual meeting.
Glaciers play a major role in discharging water into oceans. Sea levels have swelled globally an estimated 4 inches to 8 inches during the past century due to melting glaciers and polar ice - enough to cause some places to be awash at high tide or during severe storms.
posted by TheFuriousGourmet | 8:02 PM
1 Comments:
Oh good! It's only global warming ... I thought it was something serious like reducing our use of precious aerosol or other noxious gases!
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