Greenland glacier discovery shows sea level projections are too low

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Exposing the Big Game's avatarThe Extinction Chronicles

Andrew Freedman

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A picture of meltwater flowing on top Petermann Glacier in northwestern Greenland in 2016.
A 30-mile-long meltwater river runs through Petermann Glacier in August 2016. Photo: Whitney Shefte/The Washington Post via Getty Images.

Scientists may be significantlyunderestimating the amount of melting yet to come fromglaciersthat end in the sea, according to anew study.

Why it matters:The study reveals that seawater is intruding deep into northwest Greenland’s Petermann Glacier, thinning the ice from below.

  • Petermann acts like a doorstop, holding back vast quantities of land-based ice. As the glacier thins, inland ice moves faster into the ocean, raising global sea levels.

  • If all that inland ice were to melt, it would raise global sea levels by about 1.6 feet, the study found.

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