Greenland's Land Rising Faster Than Ocean Levels

Photo byPhoto by William Bossen on Unsplash

Greenland, a significant contributor to rising sea levels due to melting ice, is experiencing an unexpected phenomenon: it is rising faster than the oceans are rising. This upward movement of the bedrock beneath Greenland creates new land, including islands like Uunartoq Qeqertaq, which was recognized in 2005. While Greenland has been slowly rising since the last ice age, recent data from 58 GPS stations across the country reveals a significant acceleration in this process.

Researchers from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) found that Greenland's bedrock has risen by up to 20 centimetres in the last decade, equating to a rate of about 2 meters per century. This increase is attributed to the melting of Greenland's ice sheet and the loss of mass from peripheral glaciers, which contribute disproportionately to land uplift. As these glaciers retreat, the surrounding land rebounds, causing further elevation.

This phenomenon, known as elastic rebound, has not been fully accounted for in previous sea level rise estimates. Understanding this uplift will allow researchers to make more accurate predictions about future sea level changes. The significant changes in Greenland's landscape highlight the rapid impact of climate change on the planet, contributing to a growing list of large-scale physical transformations driven by human-induced global warming.