big city floods

The BBC has reported the Greenland ice sheet is losing its mass faster than in previous years.

Quoting a study from the journal Science, the broadcaster said a special weather team has reported the loss of ice is making an increasing contribution to sea level rise.

Melting of the entire sheet would raise sea levels globally by about seven metres.

The annual loss of ice on Greenland is now 273 thousand million tonnes.

Professor Roger Barry, a scientist on the team, said for the period 2000-2008, melting Greenland ice raised sea levels by an average of about 0.46mm per year, putting the rate well above the IPCC estimates for 2100.

Very warm summers have enhanced the ice melt.

The science team has expressed concern that the
changes to the Greenland sheet, and its much larger counterpart in Antarctica, could raise sea levels to an extent that would flood many of the world's major cities.

The Greenland ice sheet is losing mass because of increased melting on the surface and faster flow into the ocean.

Of 111 fast-moving Greenland glaciers, it has been estimated 81 are thinning at twice the rate of the slow-moving ice beside them, indicating the glaciers are accelerating and taking more ice into the surrounding sea.