Parts of Greenland’s ice sheet and glaciers that melted over the past three decades have been replaced by wetlands, shrub vegetation and areas of barren rock, according to a new study that used satellite images to track changes since the 1980s.
The findings, published Tuesday in the journal Scientific Reports, raise concerns about how Greenland’s retreating ice could threaten the stability of the landscape, exacerbate rising sea levels and contribute further greenhouse gas emissions in areas that have turned into methane-producing wetlands.
The observed changes are not just bad news for Greenland’s ice sheets and glaciers, said Jonathan Carrivick, an Earth scientist at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom and one of the authors of the study.
When ice retreats, the exposed bedrock and new areas of vegetation absorb more of the sun’s energy, increasing the temperature of the land surface and exacerbating global warming.
Michael Grimes, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Leeds and lead author of the study, said Greenland’s retreating ice and expanding vegetation have important cultural consequences as well, particularly for indigenous populations that rely on these ecosystems for traditional hunting practices.
“Moreover, the loss of ice mass in Greenland is a substantial contributor to global sea level rise,” he said, “a trend that poses significant challenges both now and in the future.”
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