Why is the Greenland Ice Sheet So Important?
Ice, and particularly that of the Greenland Icesheet, can be compared (perhaps tritely) to a canary in a coal mine. The retreat of our Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine icesheets and glaciers can be one of the most useful signals in our studies of the effects of global warming, and one of the most illustrative tools in the process of making predictions on future ice retreat, the subsequent rise of sea levels, and compounded temperature increases due to Albedo Effect and the thawing of the permafrost (which releases sequestered methane gas, one of the most powerful greenhouse gases). Aside from the disastrous effects on the terrestrial biosphere, the melting of the Arctic places a real and serious financial burden on the global economy. Is Arctic Ice Melting? National Snow and Ice Data Center. This graph shows the extent of the Arctic with normal warm-season sea ice coverage for 2007, 2010, and the average of all years from 1979-2000. It is obvious that Arctic sea ice coverage in 2010 has b
