Greenland ice melt 'is accelerating,' new study reveals
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Greenland ice sheet's losses have accelerated dramatically since the 1990s and it's now losing more than seven times as much ice per year, according to a new study.
The new assessment comes from an international group of 89 scientists that reviewed satellite observations over a 26-year period.
According to their research, published Tuesday in the journal Nature, Greenland's contribution to overall sea-level rise is now tracking at what had been seen as a pessimistic projection of the future.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}This means an additional 7 centimeters (2.7 inches) of ocean rise could be expected by the end of the century just from Greenland, experts say.
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A new study shows that Greenland's ice sheet is melting at a faster rate. (Getty Images)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The simple formula is that around the planet, six million people are brought into a flooding situation for every centimeter of sea-level rise. So, when you hear about a centimeter rise, it does have an impact," Andy Shepherd, of Leeds University, told BBC News.
The group of scientists reanalyzed data from 11 satellite missions flown from 1992 to 2018 — looking at repeat messurements of the ice sheet's thickness, flow and gravity, BBC News reports.
Greenland, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, is the world's largest island. The gigantic ice sheet that covers the island is over a mile thick at the center.
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