The Greenland Ice Sheet is melting, discharging hundreds of billions of tons of water into the ocean each year. Sea levels are steadily rising.
The Greenland Ice Sheet is melting, discharging hundreds of billions of tons of water into the ocean each year. Sea levels are steadily rising.
To better understand and anticipate changes in sea level rise, scientists have sought to quantify how much snow falls on the ice sheet in any given year, and where, since snow is the primary source of the ice sheet’s mass. This has proven to be a challenging problem.
However, a new study from a team of researchers led by University of Wisconsin–Madison Space Science and Engineering Center scientist, Claire Pettersen, describes a unique method involving cloud characteristics that could help answer some big questions about the Greenland Ice Sheet and its snowfall. The study is published today [April 9, 2018] in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.
“There are a lot of theories about how the precipitation processes over the ice sheet will change in the future,” says Pettersen. “Will it gain more as a result of increased precipitation or will it gain less due to decreasing precipitation?”
Read more at University of Wisconsin-Madison
Image: The new study involved examining the distinct paths clouds take before they produce snow at Summit Station, a longstanding research station located in the middle of Greenland. PHOTO BY CLAIRE PETTERSEN
