Image sums up ice-melt threat

| 18/06/2019 | 34 Comments
Cayman News Service
Arctic researcher Steffen Olsen sets out with dogs to retrieve meteorological equipment in Greenland (Photo by Steffen Olsen)

(CNS): Scientists say that Greenland lost the equivalent of two billion tonnes of ice last week when temperatures soared to more than 40°F (22°C) above normal and triggered an ice melt, captured on film by climate scientist Steffen Olsen from the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI). The captivating image, which has gone viral, serves as stark illustration of the extent of melting now happening across Greenland’s ice sheet.

The ice sheet melts annually every summer, with the season usually lasting from June to August. But climate experts say it is early this year and the ice sheet and sea ice loss is already several weeks ahead of normal. However, what once was an unusual increase in heat early in the season is no longer rare and this early melt is in keeping with the overall trend in the Arctic, where warming is now about twice as fast as the global average.

Scientists have said that Greenland’s ice sheet, which is more than a mile thick, is melting much faster than previously believed, and although the entire ice sheet is not going anywhere yet, if it did it it would raise sea levels by about 20 feet, plunging coastal cities and island nations like the Cayman Islands underwater. While that’s not likely to happen soon, the constant loss of ice creates a vicious circle of melting and the amplification of Arctic warming, as the darker water of open ocean absorbs more sunlight than the ice, fuelling the concerns about sea level rise around the world.

The average sea ice extent in May is nearly half a million square miles below the average for 1981-2010, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Parts of the Arctic, including the Bering Sea off western Alaska, have had exceptionally low ice cover for months.

While a stagnant zone of high-pressure air over Greenland, which brought warm air from the south, coupled with cloudless conditions led to the current melting surge, the entire issue is compounded by global warming and climate change. If international governments cannot reverse the increase in global temperature growth, then ice sheets in the Arctic will continue to melt earlier and quicker each year.

Despite being nearly 4,000 miles from Greenland, Cayman, like all small islands, will continue to be impacted by its melting ice sheets as the water level around these islands gradually and steadily increases. Combined with the continued over-development around our own coasts and flood areas, which is further compounded by the loss of mangroves, wetlands and reefs, rising sea levels will pose an ever-increasing future threat to Cayman, its economy and its people.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Tags: , , ,

Category: Marine Environment, Science & Nature

Comments (34)

Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed

  1. Anonymous says:

    Fox News = Faux News = FAKE News!

  2. Anonymous says:

    Everyone should heed the advice and prediction of an authority on the subject:

    Very very profound!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGtuDCZ3t2w

    #leftists

  3. Anonymous says:

    Funny how conservatives accept any nonsense that Fox News peddles, but when it comes to the world’s climate scientists they suddenly transform into extreme skeptics and are very concerned about the credibility of data and evidence.

    #lame

    6
    1
    • Anonymous says:

      Says the AOC disciple…. Did you buy a raft yet? only 12 years left before extinction!

      liberalism is insanity

      2
      5
      • Anonymous says:

        Why is science and reality a liberal or leftist position?

        I can only laugh about the AOC reference. Fox News has worked hard to make her their flavor-of-the-month monster and you fall right in line. Sigh.

        Friendly advice: Rethink your tribal affiliations. You are being conned and used by soulless politicians, a dirtbag unethical TV propaganda company, and oil companies. If you can’t stand Democrats or liberals, okay, don’t join them. But you can still strive to live in the real world. You can still accept evidence, science, and reality.

        #lame

  4. Rick says:

    This is the very definition of fake news. Go to the source and read the data. This report is completely wrong and designed to perpetuate a fake story.

    2
    4
  5. Anonymous says:

    This is SUCH an unusual phenomenon, which is why these guys are crossing the molten ice lake (during the summer) like pros that have done it 100 times before…

    That’s how RARE this is..

    (if you never saw that before, would YOU cross that lake on molten ice?)

    ….People are such pigeons!

    7
    19
    • Anonymous says:

      did you actually read the article? Its very rare for this early in the year.

      You have definitely proved that some people are pigeons, well done, now you can “coo” to the next climate change article

      14
      3
  6. Anonymous says:

    Just migrate. Is that not what man humans have been doing for thousands of years? Hence all the “Ancient Ruins” “RE – discovered”. Modern man continue to thinks he is smarter………..

    5
    14
    • Anonymous says:

      Okay. Great idea. Pick up your stuff, grab your family and “just migrate”

    • Anonymous says:

      Ask the children separated from their families how just migrating is working out. Ask the people who drowned while taking an unsafe boat across the seas how just migrating is working out. Ask expats here who invest all their money into turning this into their home only to be rolled over after 9 years because they aren’t the wealthy ones how just migrating is working out. This world is fragile and we are breaking it, but if we act now we can fix it. If we don’t, say good bye to humans.

  7. Anonymous says:

    But on an up note… that cooler water spilling into the Atlantic Ocean reduces the hurricane threat…all good ….Ivan

    6
    14
    • Anonymous says:

      You are right 1:44. Reduces the Hurricane threat but increases the flood threat as the seas rise and Grand Cayman slowly goes underwater.

      5
      1
  8. Mad FB says:

    It comes down to this: For you to believe the anthropogenic global warming argument, you have to believe that the increase of one molecule of CO2 out of every 10,000 molecules of air over a 100-year period is now controlling the climate for the first time in known history. It’s controlling the sun, the oceans, stochastic events and the very design of the system that encourages conflict and resolution. Climate alarmists are setting abstract goals without ever defining what the extreme long-term average temperature of the earth is (no one knows), what the perfect temperature of the planet is, or what the
    perfect level of CO2 is for life on the planet is.

    The earth warms and cools, it will never find a balance because it can’t. Humans shouldn’t be worried about the earth, it will be just fine without our help. It will continue to heat up (oceans, volcanoes and water vapour will take care of that) and then cool down – rather we should be worried about our species and how we can survive on a constantly changing and evolving planet.

    Anyone purporting they can ‘save the world’ simply wants to rule it. Name one ruler who has actually made a difference. And don’t dare mention that fake Nobel Prize imposter Gore because I’ll need a new soap box for that one…

    13
    20
  9. Anonymous says:

    So CNS, when Obama compels every human being to take a microchip to pay the carbon tax as a cryptocurrency, where will you stand?
    Will you promote the insertion of a microchip into every human being or will you call BS?
    Just asking for a friend.

    6
    20
  10. Anonymous says:

    CO-2 = Hot greenhouse effect. Hello Venus…

    8
    4
  11. Anonymous says:

    Where in Greenland was the picture taken? Parts of Greenland can get as hot as 60-85F

    https://www.climatestotravel.com/climate/greenland

    But by all means, I am offering to buy any ocean/canal/water front property for 1/100th of the appraised value due to the pending flooding Armageddon that is certain to happen.

    Don’t wait until Cayman is 20+ feet underwater, take this limited offer now!

    *** Also at a discounted price, I’m selling rafts and also prepared to trade for the properties.

    5
    18
  12. Anonymous says:

    So Greenland’s climate is improving?

    6
    20
  13. Anonymous says:

    Perhaps if someone could take Moron Trump there and hold his ass down in the cold melt-water he might believe there is climate change!!

    25
    15
  14. Anonymous says:

    it is blatently obvious…but greed will kill humanity as it is doing cayman…

    33
    4
  15. Anonymous says:

    😱

    13
    3

Leave a Reply to Anonymous Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.