I shot this last week in Greenland after connecting with the UCLA team working on a major survey of water flow on the ice sheet.
The idea is to get extremely accurate ground level measurements of water flow thru the system, in order to better understand and calibrate data coming from the satellites.
That should make for more accurate measurements of water flow and mass loss over the whole ice sheet.
I’m posting this having just gotten back from following yet another group, the Black and Bloom folks from the UK. Was able to fly along on their put-in, and got some very good (I think) shots on the ice, and more interviews with the team. They are drilling down deeper into the whole phenomenon of dark snow/albedo, and melt.
More on that soon.
Many thanks for an interesting video of industrious scientists busily at work in a place far North and well out of sight for most of us. From the European Space Agency CryoSat chilling measurements of Greenland recently published, confirming melt acceleration.
“CryoSat carries a radar altimeter that can measure the surface height variation of ice in fine detail, allowing scientists to record changes in its volume with unprecedented accuracy. ”
“12 July 2016 – In the most detailed picture to date, information from ESA’s CryoSat satellite reveals how melting ice in Greenland has recently contributed twice as much to sea-level rise as the prior two decades.
Between 2011 and 2014, Greenland lost around one trillion tonnes of ice. This corresponds to a 0.75 mm contribution to global sea-level rise each year – about twice the average of the preceding two decades. ”
Bad news for cities by the Ocean – but still time to prepare for the future. . . Provided we accept the ongoing and increasing threat to our infrastructures.
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/CryoSat/CryoSat_reveals_recent_Greenland_ice_loss
Rapid Acceleration in Sea Level Rise — From 2009 Through October 2015, Global Oceans Have Risen by 5 Millimeters Per Year
Study Reveals Stunning Acceleration of Sea Level Rise