The Glacial Conveyer - Meltdown of the Greenland Ice Cap
Another process, which is speeding up the thawing of the Greenland ice cap is known at the 'Glacial conveyer' effect.
The effect is observed when water from melted ice on the surface percolates through holes in the glacier. Under the glacier the water forms a layer between the glacier and the bedrock, slightly lifting the glacier and moving it rapidly towards the see as if on a conveyer belt.
What is the impact?
carbon-info.org
- Glacial Conveyer
The Jacobshavn glacier, the largest glacier in Greenland and the world - four miles wide and 1000 feet thick - is moving towards the sea at a rate of 113 feet every year. The normal annual rate of a glacier is just 1 foot.
Until recently scientists believed that the Greenland ice cap would take 1000 years to completely melt. New research released in November 2005 suggests that this time frame is more likely to be just 500 years or even less. The research also suggests that we are at a tipping point, where the Greenland ice cap will melt irreversibly, leading to London and other major cities around the globe being lost to rising sea levels.
The Jacobshavn glacier is alone responsible for 3% of the annual sea rises worldwide. The volume of freshwater released from this and other glaciers is changing the salinity in the North Atlantic ocean, which could spell trouble for the Gulf Stream. Scientists believe that if the melting continues the Gulf Stream will shut down permanently, and that this catastrophic event could happen already this century.
If the Gulf Stream fails to bring hot water to North Europe, this will spell disaster for the UK. Last time this happened, the UK was covered in permafrost for 1,300 years.
