NASA scientists track Greenland's melting ice, and the findings are not good

By Associated Press
Published: Aug 15, 2019 7:16 p.m. ET

‘It’s a little scary’ as climate change eats away at massive glaciers

ABOARD A NASA RESEARCH PLANE OVER GREENLAND-
...Like nearly every other glacier on Greenland, the massive Kangerlussuaq is melting. In fact, the giant frozen island has seen one of its biggest melts on record this year. NASA scientist Josh Willis is now closely studying the phenomenon in hopes of figuring out precisely how global warming is eating away at Greenland’s ice.

...Water brings more heat to something frozen faster than air does, as anyone who has ever defrosted a steak under the faucet knows. If Willis’ theory that much of the damage is from the water turns out to be correct, he said, “there’s a lot higher potential for Greenland to melt more quickly than we thought.” And that means seas rising faster and coastal communities being inundated more.

Greenland contains enough ice to make world sea levels rise by 20 feet if it were all to melt. In a single day this month, it lost a record 13.7 billion tons by one estimate.

“It’s a little scary,” Willis said as looked down on an area filled with more water than ice. “We’re definitely watching the ice sheet disappear in front of us.”

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/nasa-scientists-track-greenlands-melting-ice-and-the-findings-are-not-good-2019-08-15