Getting Closer to the Melt-water Mystery of Greenland's Ice Sheet

Meltwater mystery has been revealed by scientists from land hydrology, glaciology and climate modeling. It has been discovered by the researchers that some meltwater from the lakes and rivers on the top of the region's glaciers, is being stored and trapped on top of the glacier. The trapped water has a low-density inside.  This natural phenomenon affects climate predictions meltwater of Greenland. Scientists are trying to understand the reason how this natural phenomenon causes the rise into the sea levels.

It is a well-known fact that Greenland is the largest melting ice sheet of meltwater runoff that contributes to the rise in the sea levels. It is also said that at least half of sea level rise is caused by melting ice of Greenland. Researchers tried to collect information using flows from the edge of the ice, but they found that the measurements were very complicated for climate models testing. After this research it has been found that the journey of the meltwater is even more complex than imagined earlier. After the research it was observed that before the water passes through the ice via moulins, it can pool, relax or refreeze in porous ice at the surface of that. During the research a device named Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler, was used that used to track discharge on the basis of sound. The research is still going on to get all the details of Greenland's ice sheet.

By: Anita Aishvarya

Content: www.sciencedaily.com