Could all the ice in Greenland melt, raising global sea levels and drowning many of our huge coastal cities?
Yes, it could, and at the rate we're going it almost certainly will someday. The problem is we don't know how close we might be coming to a catastrophic tipping point.
Here's more from Planet Snapshots...
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Rewind about 400,000 years ago and Greenland was, in fact, green. Temperatures were warmer then, and global sea level was at least 5 feet (1.5 m) higher than today.
Greenland is one of Earth’s most pressing climate tipping points — thresholds in the planet’s fine-tuned, self-regulating system that, once breached, cause dramatic and damaging changes. Its life support systems work like a game of Jenga: removing a few blocks may compromise the structure’s stability without ending the game. But there’s a critical block that will bring it crashing to the ground. Hiding within Jenga-Earth are critical blocks that, when pulled, will tip the whole structure.
Global sea level would rise 23 feet (7 m) if Greenland’s ice sheet completely melted again. The goal is to keep that “if” from turning into a “when.”
Scientists don’t know exactly how much atmospheric warming would trigger that level of melt, but some estimate a figure as low as 1.6°C. We’re well on track to surpass that target, especially considering that the loss of Greenland’s ice is creating a positive feedback loop.
The same reflectivity that makes it difficult for satellites to image the ice sheet is also great at bouncing back sunlight. But more of the ice is melting and the surface is darkening, reducing its reflectivity, or albedo, and further accelerating ice loss.
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FULL ARTICLE -- https://medium.com/@planetsnapshots/issue-89-tipping-points-greenland-5bdda753bea8
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