Rainfall was reported for the first time at the summit of Greenland’s ice sheet. But, as intriguing as it might be, researchers worry because this is just another unfortunate milestone in Earth’s ecological unraveling.
Now, new data and reports are available, revealing Greenland’s current situation.
Here is what you need to know.
Rainfall Record on Greenland’s Summit
Like much of the world, Greenland is now experiencing a huge heatwave, with temperatures reaching some worrying levels above freezing for the third time in less than a decade.
A recent report shows how rain poured for several hours on August 14 in a region usually too frosty for water to fall as a liquid.
“There is no previous report of rainfall at this location, which reaches 3,216 meters (10,551 feet) in elevation; […] temperatures rose above freezing on the summit of Greenland, […] a rain event that dumped 7 billion tons of water,” stated the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
How Dangerous is the Rainfall?
Ice sheets form in parts of Earth that don’t typically experience melt over the summer. Also, winter snow spans thousands of years, shrinking under the weight of new layers.
Other recent melting events at Greenland were driven by warm air temperatures, triggering the networks of summer lakes to increase so much that the melting process accelerated. And as if it wasn’t enough, the ice sheets were destabilized.
So, the rainfall not only melts the snow, triggering other melting events but also influences the ice sheet dynamics in the longer term. The rain can flash and freeze into a sheet of ice that’s much darker, absorbing more heat than usual.
Finally, the ice sheet will create a smooth barrier once frozen, limiting meltwater from seeping down below the surface. As a result, a flood event of the ice layer can happen, triggering more and more melting at higher altitudes.