"Greenland Melt May Bring More Sea-Level Rise Than Expected: Studies

"Two new studies are offering new warnings about the Greenland ice sheet and its future contribution to rising sea levels that could wreak havoc on coastal areas.

In one, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers report that current computer models are not fully capturing how Greenland's glaciers are changing with warming and adding to ocean levels, particularly in the southeast part of the ice sheet. The other study, in Nature Climate Change, reveals that 'supraglacial' lakes that can speed up ice loss could double their reach on Greenland by 2060 as they move further inland.

While they are from different journals, both papers have a parallel subtext that current projections of Greenland and sea-level rise are likely underestimating ice loss, and perhaps to a large degree."

Christa Marshall reports for ClimateWire December 16, 2014.

Source: ClimateWire, 12/17/2014