Greenland's Meltdown May be Permanent

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Scientists studying Greenland's ice sheet over the past thirty-five years have concluded that annual snowfall is not enough to replenish the snow and ice being lost to summertime melting.  That melting is causing global seas to rise a millimeter per year.   That may sound like an insignificant amount, but if the entire ice sheet goes, the water released will cause sea levels to rise by 6 meters--more than enough to inundate coastal cities.  An author of the study published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment journal said Greenland is the "canary in the coal mine, and the canary is pretty much dead at this point."

The Arctic region has been warming twice as fast as the rest of the globe for the last thirty years, a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification.  Arctic sea ice is at its lowest extent in forty years.  It is melting ice sheets anchored on dry land that will add fresh water to the Earth's oceans.  Some exploiters are already licking their chops as Greenland is uncovered, since it is rich in minerals and the fabled Northwest Passage will be ice free.  No wonder the Heel in Office offered to buy Greenland from Denmark, the current sovereign.  Last month the imperial US reopened a consulate in the autonomous territory at Nuuk, the capital.

The melting of Greenland will be with us well into the distant future.  The study suggests that the ice sheet will gain mass only once in 100 years.  Reducing global warming to agreed upon levels will not bring back the ice pack, but in would slow the rate of change in the Earth's climate patterns and the accompanying sea-level rise.  This delay would give humans time to adapt and implement new strategies for dealing with the brave, new world they have created.