Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite tv for pc picture of Kangerlussuaq Glacier, Greenland This false-color picture reveals seen adjustments on the bottom and sea floor between three completely different acquisition dates. Credit score: Incorporates modified Copernicus Sentinel information (2021), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
The Kangerlussuaq Glacier, one in all Greenland’s largest tidewater outlet glaciers, is pictured on this false-color picture captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission. That means ‘giant fjord’ in Greenlandic, the Kangerlussuaq Glacier flows into the top of the Kangerlussuaq Fjord, the second largest fjord in east Greenland.
Every Sentinel-1 satellite tv for pc carries a complicated radar instrument giving us a day-and-night provide of pictures of Earth’s floor. Distant sensing permits us to watch ice sheets throughout the globe and preserve monitor of all calving levels – from rift detection to iceberg breakaway – in addition to measure ice cowl and drifting icebergs.
This Sentinel-1 radar picture combines three separate acquisitions throughout the summer time of 2021 and reveals seen adjustments on the bottom and sea floor between three acquisition dates: June 4, June 16, and June 28. The array of colours represents the seasonal retreat of ice throughout this time.
On the prime of the picture, steady ice might be seen in white and is current in all three radar acquisitions. Ice and snow seen solely within the early-summer acquisitions might be seen in brilliant yellow and are usually not current within the final acquisition as they've melted by this time. The completely different shades of purple highlights ice and snow detected solely within the first acquisition captured on June 4. Colours on the ocean floor range owing to floor currents and sea ice dynamics.
Analysis utilizing satellite tv for pc imagery means that since 2017, Kangerlussuaq has entered a brand new part of speedy retreat and acceleration, and its ice entrance is now at its most retreated place for the reason that early twentieth century.
As international temperatures enhance, the melting of the huge ice sheets that blanket Greenland has considerably accelerated, contributing to sea-level rise. Over the previous decade alone, findings have revealed that 3.5 trillion tonnes of ice have melted from the Greenland ice sheet and spilled into the ocean – sufficient to cowl the UK with meltwater 15 m deep.
Utilizing information from ESA’s CryoSat mission, the analysis reveals that excessive ice melting occasions in Greenland have turn out to be extra frequent and extra intense over the previous 40 years, elevating sea ranges and the chance of flooding worldwide.
Raised sea ranges heighten the chance of flooding for coastal communities worldwide and disrupt Arctic Ocean marine ecosystems, in addition to altering patterns of ocean and atmospheric circulation – which have an effect on climate situations across the planet.
Observations of Greenland runoff from house can be utilized to confirm how local weather fashions simulate ice sheet melting which is able to permit improved predictions of how a lot Greenland will increase the worldwide sea degree sooner or later.
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