NASA GISS Science Briefing on Ice Melt in History and Today

Dr. Vivian Gornitz (January 2007) at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies provides a concise account of global ice melt and sea level since the last ice age.

"Recent observations of Greenland and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet raise concerns for the future. Satellites detect a thinning of parts of the Greenland Ice Sheet at lower elevations, and glaciers are disgorging ice into the ocean more rapidly, adding 0.23 to 0.57 mm/yr to the sea within the last decade. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is also showing some signs of thinning. Either ice sheet, if melted completely, contains enough ice to raise sea level by 5-7 m. A global temperature rise of 2-5°C might destabilize Greenland irreversibly. Such a temperature rise lies within the range of several future climate projections for the 21st century."

You can read the entire report here:

Sea Level Rise, After the Ice Melted and Today

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