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GLACIOLOGISTS: GREENLAND'S GLACIERS STABILIZING

Started by dsnope, 04/05/2009 01:02AM
Posted 04/05/2009 01:02AM Opening Post
The rapid shrinking of glaciers in Greenland during recent years may stall, diminishing the Arctic island’s potential contribution to rising sea levels blamed on global warming, a U.K.-led research team found.

The study in the journal Nature Geoscience indicates the faster-than-normal ice loss observed in many of Greenland’s glaciers in the early 2000s won’t be sustained, said Andreas Vieli, a glaciologist at Durham University in northern England.

“Our modeling suggests that these very high rates of glacier retreat can’t be maintained for very long,” Vieli, a co-author of the paper, said in a telephone interview.

Scientists are improving their knowledge of glaciers so the data can be used to predict their longevity. Greenland contains enough ice to raise sea levels by about 7 meters (23 feet), threatening coastal villages around the world, if it melted.

A United Nations global warming panel said in 2007 that melting ice may contribute to rising oceans this century while acknowledging that uncertainty surrounds how much ice Greenland will lose. The latest findings may help calibrate UN models.

The Durham University-led scientists used a computer model to analyze changes in Helheim Glacier, in southeast Greenland.

They concluded the driver of the melting was a break at its snout in the sea that had a domino effect inland. They also found glaciers stabilize after an initial rapid retreat.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aXm16yRTS344&refer=latin_america