The Last Frost

Due to the accelerated rate at which Greenland's glaciers are slipping towards the sea, scientists have been able to detect changes in the Earth's gravity above Greenland. Sounds ridiculous but it's true.

Two scientists have analysed data from a pair of satellites in polar orbit around the earth. The two satellites follow the same orbital path, but one is about 200 yards ahead of the other. By monitoring minute changes in the distance between these two satellites, scientists can map gravitational changes on the Earth. You can read about the GRACE satellites here.

What they've found is that Greenland is losing it's ice very rapidly. The scientists estimate that Greenland is losing about 20 percent more ice annually than is replenished with snowfall. Also, glaciologist Eric Rignot points out, "None of this has been predicted by numerical models, and therefore all projections of the contribution of Greenland to sea level [rise] are way below reality." [Scientific American]

Gravity Measurements Confirm Greenland's Glaciers Precipitous Meltdown » [Scientific American]

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 24th, 2006 at 11:39 am and is filed under Climate Change, Latest News, Oh Shit, Science, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.