Greenland Ice Loss Linked with Air Temps

Greenbelt, Md. -- A U.S. space agency study has confirmed the surface temperature of Greenland's massive ice sheet has been rising, stoked by increasing air temperatures.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientists used satellite technologies to explore the behavior of the ice sheet, revealing a relationship between changes occurring at the surface and those below.

"The relationship between surface temperature and mass loss lends further credence to earlier work showing rapid response of the ice sheet to surface meltwater," said Dorothy Hall, a senior researcher in cryospheric sciences at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and lead author of the study.

The scientists said they found the paired surface temperature and gravity data confirm a strong connection between surface melting in areas below 6,500 feet in elevation, and ice loss throughout the ice sheet's giant mass.

"This indicates the meltwater from the surface must be traveling down to the base of the ice sheet -- through over a mile of ice -- very rapidly, where its presence allows the ice at the base to slide forward, speeding the flow of outlet glaciers that discharge icebergs and water into the surrounding ocean."

The research appears in the Journal of Glaciology.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.