Greenland - 2 Flashcards
Briefly describe Greenland’s geography.
Greenland is the world’s largest island (2.2 million sqkm). Its ice sheet is approximately 1.7 million sqkm (80%) of the island, in some places it is found to be 4km thick. The country is dome like in shape with the elevation reaching its highest inland (more than 3000m). It contains 11% of the Earth’s freshwater supply.
Describe one global response to the impacts of melting glaciers and ice sheets.
In 1986, the World Glacier Monitoring System started to collect information on glacier changes. Presently, the WGMS collects data on changes in mass, volume, area and length of glaciers and also records the time periods involved with the glacier fluctuation. The organisation collects and shares this data about specific glaciers and ice sheets.
List reasons for the changes in Greenland’s ice sheet.
The formation of Cryoconite has accelerated the melt of Greenland. When cryoconite melts through the ice, it creates moulins, where water rushes into and melts the ice from the base.
According to an ongoing temperature analysis conducted by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), the average global temperature on Earth has increased by about 0.8° Celsius (1.4° Fahrenheit) since 1880. Many scientists who study the ice melt in Greenland consider that a two or three degree Centigrade temperature rise would result in a complete melting of Greenland’s ice.
The presence of the warm, salty Atlantic water has been documented as increasing glacial melt within Greenland. The undersides of the ice cap and it’s various glaciers are being melted from the contact with the increasingly warming water.
Describe what cryoconite is.
Explain how it affects Greenland’s ice.
The mineral, cryoconite, has exacerbated the melting of Greenland’s ice sheet. Cryoconite is an airborne sediment. It is a combination of; dust from central Asian deserts, particulate matter from volcanoes, and particles from European coal-fired power plants and diesel engines.
The dark colour of the cryoconite on the ice means that more solar radiation is absorbed, rather than reflected. The heat stored in the cryoconite is transferred to the surrounding ice throughout the day and night. Thus, the surrounding ice experiences an accelerated melt, eventually leading to the formation of moulins.
Define ‘moulin’.
Describe how moulins can contribute to the melting of ice sheets.
A vertical or near vertical shaft found in a glacier/ice sheet, which can cause the ice to melt from the base.
List the negative impacts as a result of Greenland’s melting ice.
The increased melting has caused GLOFs to occur. These are Glacial Lake Outburst Floods, which is when glacial lakes overfill, bursting their banks.
The ice is thinning along the coast, this makes traversing the ice incredibly dangerous. Many people no longer take dogsled, and rather go by boat.
The decreasing amount of ice will only exacerbate the problem of Greenland’s melting ice. The loss of ice means the albedo of Greenland decreases, allowing more heat from the sun to be absorbed by the ocean.
