New research, titled "Greenland Ice Sheet Climate Disequilibrium and Committed Sea-Level Rise" published in Nature Climate Change, reports that more than 120 trillion tons of the Greenland ice sheet is doomed to melt due to the worsening climate change and threatens to raise global sea levels by at least 10.6 inches (27 centimeters).
The study used the observation data from 2000 to 2019 and its sea level rise projection does not include ice lost in other locations, such as Antarctica. Study co-author William Colgan said that the so-called zombie ice in Greenland is going to melt and disappear from the ice sheet and will go to the ocean regardless of what climate emissions people take now.
Zombie Ice Doomed to Melt Soon
Study authors wrote that the rapid melting of the Greenland ice sheet could cause a significant sea level rise because of the zombie ice that is doomed to melt soon.
It is still attached to thicker areas of the ice, but it is not getting replenished by parent glaciers and climate change will inevitably cause it to melt and raise sea levels, says Colgan who is a glaciologist at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland.
Study lead author Jason Box, also a glaciologist at the Greenland survey, said that the zombie ice represents one foot in the grave. Chron reported that the inevitable 10 inches rise in sea levels is more than twice as much sea level rise as previously expected from the melting of Greenland's ice sheet.
He wrote in the study that sea level rise could be as much as 30 inches (78 centimeters), compared to previous estimates of only 2 to 5 inches (6 to 13 centimeters) by the year 2100.
They added that more than 120 trillion tons of ice are estimated to melt from the glaciers because of their inability to melt. When that is concentrated only in the US, it could cause 37 feet (11 meters) sea level rise.
These figures are a global average in which some places may get more water, and others get lesser. Geosciences professor Ellyn Enderlin from Boise State University who was not part of the study said that even though a 10-inch rise does not sound much it will still have a huge societal, economic, and environmental impact.
Will Climate Measures Help Prevent Rising Sea Levels?
The team looked at the ice in balance because, in perfect equilibrium, snowfall in Greenland mountains flows down and recharges and thickens the glaciers to balance out the melting edges of the ice. But there is less replenishment seen in the past few decades and more melting was recorded creating an imbalance. Per calculations, about 3.3% of total ice volume will melt no matter what happens or measures people implement now.
"This ice has been consigned to the ocean, regardless of what climate (emissions) scenario we take now," EcoWatch quoted Colgan.
Yes, we are now committed to at least 27 cm of sea-level rise from the Greenland ice sheet alone, but implementing the Paris Agreement -- to avert additional climate change -- can still avoid incurring a 3x higher commitment within decades.
— William Colgan, Ph.D. (@GlacierBytes) August 29, 2022
🌊https://t.co/QoAAyWbbOH
Scientists blame the centuries of industrial fossil fuel extraction, combustion, and public disinformation from companies and industries that profited from it for causing the significant rise in global temperatures, which alters the equilibrium in the Greenland ice sheet.
They worry that severe melting events like the one seen in 2012 could worsen sea level rise, which is a bad scenario waiting to happen that might cause the disappearance of many coastal cities and countries, like New York, Miami, and Bangladesh.
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