Greenland ice sheet
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The Greenland ice sheet is an ice sheet which forms the second-largest body of ice in the world. It is an average of 1,673 m thick and over 3,488 m thick at its maximum. It is almost 2,900 kilometres
Greenland ice sheet as seen from space
The pattern of ice flows at the Greenland ice sheet, with arrows pointing to outlet glaciers where ice calving occurs
Glaciologist at work
Until 2007, rate of decrease in ice sheet height in cm per year
Climate change in the Arctic
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Due to climate change in the Arctic, this polar region is expected to become "profoundly different" by 2050. The speed of change is "among the highest in the world", with warming occurring at 3-4 time
The image above shows where average air temperatures (October 2010 – September 2011) were up to 2 degrees Celsius above (red) or below (blue) the long-term average (1981–2010).
Potential regional warming caused by the loss of all land ice outside of East Antarctica, and by the disappearance of Arctic sea ice every year starting from June. While plausible, consistent sea ice loss would likely require relatively high warming, and the loss of all ice in Greenland would require multiple millennia.
The dark ocean surface reflects only 6 percent of incoming solar radiation, while sea ice reflects 50 to 70 percent.
Month-by-month chart shows how minimum ice volume usually occurs in September, and maxima usually occurring in April.