The maps, published in the journal Science Advances, provide the most detailed and comprehensive view of Greenland's glaciers to date. They show that the ice sheet is losing ice at an accelerating rate, and that some of the largest and fastest-moving glaciers are at risk of collapse.
"The new maps show that the Greenland ice sheet is in more trouble than we thought," said lead author Jason Box, a professor at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS). "The number of glaciers that are at risk of collapse is shocking."
The maps are based on data collected by the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission, a pair of radar satellites that have been orbiting Earth since 2014. The satellites use radar to measure the elevation of the ice sheet, and can detect changes in the ice elevation over time.
The maps show that the ice sheet is losing ice at a rate of 286 gigatons per year. This is equivalent to losing a block of ice the size of Florida every seven years. The ice sheet is also losing mass at an accelerating rate, with the rate of ice loss increasing by 28% since 2000.
The maps also show that some of the largest and fastest-moving glaciers in Greenland are at risk of collapse. This includes the Jakobshavn Glacier, which is the fastest-moving glacier in Greenland and one of the largest glaciers in the world. The Jakobshavn Glacier is losing mass at a rate of 100 gigatons per year, and is at risk of collapse in the coming decades.
"The collapse of the Jakobshavn Glacier would be a major event," said Box. "It would raise sea levels by about 1 inch, and would cause coastal flooding around the world."
The new maps are a stark reminder of the urgent need to take action on climate change. If we do not take action, the Greenland ice sheet will continue to lose mass at an accelerating rate, and will eventually collapse. This would have devastating consequences for sea levels and coastal communities around the world.
