We’ve been told before about the alarming rate at which Greenland allegedly loses water. According to a new report, it seems that the world’s largest island is getting its ice sheet replaced by vegetation because of global warming as USA TODAY NEWS informs.
It’s a premiere since the Vikings visited Greenland about a millennia ago, and the world’s largest island is becoming green again. Researchers estimate that 11,000 square miles of the ice sheet and glaciers of Greenland have melted only in the past three decades. Now, there are large areas of shrub, wetlands, and barren rock on the island, while in the same places, there was only ice and snow.
Jonathan Carrivick, a co-author of the new study who also activates as an Earth scientist at the University of Leeds (UK), stated:
Warmer temperatures are linked to the land cover changes that we are seeing on Greenland,
By analyzing high-resolution satellite images, we have been able to produce a detailed record of the land cover changes that are taking place.
If you still believe that it’s irrelevant how much ice Greenland loses, check out what Michael Grimes has to say, the study’s lead author, as USA TODAY NEWS quotes:
The loss of ice mass in Greenland is a substantial contributor to global sea level rise, a trend that poses significant challenges both now and in the future.
The total area of Greenland is over 2.1 million square kilometers if we include other offshore minor islands. Surprisingly enough, over 50,000 people live on the world’s largest island, which means that Greenland has the lowest population density on the planet. Considering that large areas of Greenland are covered by a permanent ice sheet, there’s no wonder why so few people decided to live there.
