I've just read a fascinating yet profoundly disturbing article from the New York Times about Greenland. To summarise:
* New Islands are being discovered every year off the coast of Greenland. As the ice melts and retreats, mountains and land masses that were thought to be part of the mainland have been revealed to be islands.
* According to one geologist, the ice in Greenland has retreated 10km over the space of five years. ie: Where the ice met the sea has shrunk 10km.
* "Ice shelves are breaking up, and summertime 'glacial earthquakes' have been detected within the ice sheet." NB: Ice Shelves are layers of permanent ice floating on the top of the sea but are connected to the land. Ice sheets are above sea level. When Ice shelves melt, there is no increase in sea level. If Ice sheets melt, sea levels will rise.
* If the Ice sheets on Greenland melt, sea levels will rise 7 metres.
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