Central Greenland was once ice-free, an analysis of fossils shows. Scientists are warning of a catastrophic rise in sea levels if the Arctic ice melts.
Researchers have recently analysed fossils from the centre of the Greenland ice sheet, known to be the largest annual contributor of water to the ocean. The fossils contained organic matter, indicating that the region was ice-free during the Pleistocene Epoch, about 400,000 years ago.
The soil samples included fragments of willow and wood, insect parts, spike moss megaspores, fungi, and poppy seeds. If the Arctic could become ice-free without human influence in the past, it is certainly possible it could do so again due to human-induced warming.
The fossil samples were obtained from a drilling expedition in 1993, extracted from 2 miles beneath the ice shelf in Northwest Greenland, about 100 miles from the ice margin.
The fossilised plants suggest that temperatures at Summit, Greenland, were likely about 2 to 6 degrees Celsius (37 to 44 degrees Fahrenheit) when the ice disappeared, and the area was replaced by a tundra ecosystem around 400,000 years ago. At that time, carbon dioxide levels were about 280 parts per million, compared to roughly 420 parts per million today.
The significant increase in carbon dioxide levels helps explain the current heat trends.
Previous marine sediment samples did not provide complete reconstructions of the ice sheet, making the analysis of these Arctic fossils even more valuable, according to researchers. Furthermore, the "remarkable preservation" of the macrofossils indicates that the ice sheet was completely ice-free during the Pleistocene period.
Data from NASA's Grace satellite shows a drastic reduction in the mass of the Greenland ice sheet over the past two decades. The ice sheet is not only more unstable than previously thought but also melting faster than scientists predicted, which could accelerate its disappearance.
The melting of the Greenland ice sheet could put 400 million people at risk of flooding. This potential melting in Greenland would have global impacts — coastal cities like Mumbai, Cape Town, New York, Boston, and Miami could disappear under water.
Greenland's three largest glaciers — Jakobshavn Isbræ, Kangerlussuaq, and Helheim—could lose more ice than previously predicted if emissions continue as usual, according to a 2020 study published in Nature. These glaciers comprise about 12% of the entire ice sheet and hold enough ice to raise sea levels by approximately 1.3 metres.
Arctic Century recently wrote about salmon catch in Greenland. Read more about it in this material.
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