Rapidly rising Arctic temperatures could lead to significantly greater sea-level rise

Ice in Greenland

Rapidly rising Arctic temperatures could lead to significantly greater sea-level rise

An environmental expert from the University of Sheffield has warned global sea-level rise by the year 2100 could be significantly greater than previously predicted following analysis of Greenland´s rapidly shrinking ice sheets.

Edward Hanna, of the University´s Department of Geography, has been on a scientific expedition to Greenland studying climate station data and changes to the country´s Mittivakkat Glacier as part of a worldwide project.

"Climate change in Greenland has been rapid recently, with several record warm summers over the last four to five years, and ice sheets are much more responsive to global warming than was thought to be the case just a few years ago," said Hanna.

"This means that global sea-level rise by 2100 could be significantly greater than suggested by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Greenland has been warming rapidly by about two degrees centigrade since the early 1990s and this has significantly increased ice melt and mass loss over the last 15 to 20 years.

"By better understanding the ice mass balance response to climatic fluctuations over the past few decades, we can use this information to help refine predictions of how the ice sheet is likely to respond to future climate change."

Hanna´s research forms part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Arctic Report Card, which is prepared by a team of 121 scientists from 14 countries across the globe, which was released earlier this month.

As part of international collaborative research involving the University of Sheffield, Hanna analysed climate station data from Greenland and modelled the surface mass balance of its ice sheet over the last 140 years. He also carried out fieldwork on the Mittivakkat Glacier in south-east Greenland.

For this year´s Arctic Report Card Hanna contributed to the Greenland Ice Sheet section outlining climate and mass balance conditions for the last year.

The international team of scientists, who monitor changes in the earth´s northern polar region, say their research suggests the Arctic is entering a new state with higher air and water temperatures, less summer sea ice and snow cover, and changing ocean chemistry.

This shift is also causing changes in the in the region´s life, both on land and in the sea, including less habitat for polar bears and walruses but increased access to feeding areas for whales.

"With a greener and warmer Arctic, more development is likely," added Monica Medina,
NOAA Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. "Reports like this help us to prepare for increasing demands on Arctic resources so that better decisions can be made about how to manage and protect these more valuable and increasingly available resources."