Greenland’s fastest-melting glacier has stalled. But that’s bad news.

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Like a snake slithering back into its den, Greenland’s lengthy Jakobshavn glacier has retreated over 25 miles since the 19th century. And for the last two decades, this warming river of ice has purged more ice into to sea than any other Greenland glacier. 

But since 2016 — and after 20 years of unprecedented melting in Greenland — Jakobshavn’s rapid retreat has slowed down considerably and the glacier has even grown bigger. This might appear to be a rare dose of good news for the Arctic — a place that’s heated up over twice as much as the rest of the planet. 

But no.

Instead, a team researchers led by scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory discovered that Jakobshavn’s stagnated melt is only a temporary blip brought on by cooler ocean currents. Though worryingly, the recent slowing also carries ominous news for the thawing landmass. The research, published Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience, reveals that the Jakobshavn glacier — whose ice reaches some 2,600 feet under the sea — is extremely sensitive to changes in ocean temperature. That’s a big problem because the dynamic ocean currents off western Greenland will naturally warm up again — on top of the reality that Earth’s absorbent seas soak up Read more…

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View More Greenland’s fastest-melting glacier has stalled. But that’s bad news.

Don’t forget about the colossal Himalayan glaciers. They’re rapidly vanishing, too.

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The Himalayas pierce the sky. But they’ve been overshadowed. 

The accelerated melting in the Arctic — the fastest warming region on Earth — and the Antarctic — home to the largest ice sheets on the planet — certainly demand widespread scientific and media attention. Yet beyond the continually grim news from the north and south poles is the melting of the “third pole,” known as the Hindu Kush Himalaya region. Spreading over 2,000 miles across eight nations (from Afghanistan to Myanmar), these mountainous lands are home to the third-largest stores of ice on the planet and provide water to hundreds of millions of people.  Read more…

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View More Don’t forget about the colossal Himalayan glaciers. They’re rapidly vanishing, too.

If Earth’s great ice sheets start collapsing, massive undersea walls could hold them back

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It would be best for humanity if the colossal ice sheets that blanket Antarctica stayed put. But, there’s growing evidence that as the planet heats up, these sprawling glaciers could begin flowing into the ocean at an accelerated pace, boosting sea levels not in feet — but yards.

To halt the melting ice, some scientists have now proposed an ambitious geoengineering plan: constructing massive undersea walls to keep Antarctica’s ice in place. 

As Earth’s climate continues to warm due to human-caused global warming, it’s still not well understood how quickly the ice sheets might collapse, but the melting of these glaciers is already underway. Read more…

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View More If Earth’s great ice sheets start collapsing, massive undersea walls could hold them back

New islands are being left behind by rapidly retreating Arctic glaciers

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There are three new islands in the thawing Arctic, each left behind by melting glaciers. 

As warming masses of ice retreat away from the rugged outcroppings at the edge of the Devon Ice Cap in the Canadian Arctic, glaciologist Mauri Pelto recently spotted on satellite images the “release,” or freeing, of these three new islands, and posted the images online. This geographic transformation is a continuation of the accelerating change now unfolding in the Arctic, where things are warming over twice as fast as the rest of the planet — and in some places even faster.

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View More New islands are being left behind by rapidly retreating Arctic glaciers

Boaty McBoatface is heading to Antarctica to help scientists answer urgent questions

The British research submarine that the internet named “Boaty McBoatface” is headed to Antarctica as part of the largest U.S. scientific collaboration with the U.K. in Antarctica in 70 years. 
The project, which will involve more than 100 scient…

View More Boaty McBoatface is heading to Antarctica to help scientists answer urgent questions

Thawing chunks of Arctic sea ice trapped and sunk boats in the Atlantic Ocean

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In the spring of 2017, a thick-hulled icebreaking research vessel, the Amundsen, had left its Quebec port en route to a research cruise in Hudson Bay. But the scientists aboard never made it to their destination: The Amundsen was diverted to rescue unsuspecting ships that had become entrapped by Arctic ice floes that moved into North Atlantic Ocean shipping lanes.

In past years, these masses of Arctic ice had mostly stayed put in their proper ocean — the Arctic — but increasing temperatures caused ice to melt, unclogging the channels connecting the Arctic to the north Atlantic, thus allowing massive surges of ice to flow freely south.   Read more…

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View More Thawing chunks of Arctic sea ice trapped and sunk boats in the Atlantic Ocean