Record Melt of Greenland's Glaciers This Summer

Pools of glacial meltwater can be seen from this past summer's record thaw of Greenland's ice sheet.

Satellite observations made over the past summer reveal that the northern part of the Greenland ice sheep experienced a record number of melting days, producing weeks of extreme snow melt, according to a group of New York researchers.

Professor Marco Tedesco of the City College of New York found that microwave sensors aboard a U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s F13 satellite observed melting in northern Greenland lasted up to 18 days longer over summer than ever before observed.

Tedesco and his team believe abnormally warm temperatures, and possibly more sunshine this summer, were probably responsible for the melt.

Ground measurements from World Meteorological Organization automatic weather stations located near where the record snowmelt was observed show air maximum temperatures up to 5.4° Fahrenheit (3° Celsius) above average.

The record Greenland melt came during a summer that also saw the entire Arctic ice cap melt to the second-greatest extent ever observed.

Photo: NASA MODIS Rapid Response System