State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Tag: Greenland Ice Sheet3

  • Exposing Greenland’s Green Past

    Exposing Greenland’s Green Past

    Findings from last year indicate that the Greenland Ice Sheet is perhaps not as stable as scientists had hoped.

  • Will Loss of Arctic Sea Ice Cause More ‘Snow on Ice’ in Greenland?

    Will Loss of Arctic Sea Ice Cause More ‘Snow on Ice’ in Greenland?

    Scientists are collecting lake sediment, rock, water and plant samples to tease apart linkages between Arctic sea ice, atmospheric uptake, and changes in snowfall on the Greenland Ice Sheet.

  • The Greenland Ice Sheet Is Sponging Up Meltwater

    The Greenland Ice Sheet Is Sponging Up Meltwater

    As climate warms, the surface of the Greenland ice sheet is melting, and all that meltwater ends up in seasonal rivers that flow to the sea. At least that is what scientists have assumed until now. A new study has shown that some of the meltwater is actually being soaked into porous subsurface ice and…

  • Radar Reveals Meltwater’s Year-Round Life Under Greenland Ice

    Radar Reveals Meltwater’s Year-Round Life Under Greenland Ice

    An improved technique developed by a graduate student at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and her colleagues is making it possible to use airborne ice-penetrating radar to reveal meltwater’s life under the ice throughout the year.

  • In Greenland, Exactly Where Meltwater Enters the Ocean Matters

    In Greenland, Exactly Where Meltwater Enters the Ocean Matters

    In southern Greenland in summer, rivers have been streaming off the ice sheet, pouring cold fresh water into the fjords. A new study tracks where that meltwater goes—with surprising results.

  • The Changing Upernavik Waterfront

    The Changing Upernavik Waterfront

    Project Background: Changing conditions in Greenland’s northwest glaciers over the last decade have led to a range of questions about water temperature and circulation patterns in the fjords where ocean water meets the glacial fronts.

  • The Art of Flying

    The Art of Flying

    Flying. It is something we are almost all familiar with, and yet I expect few of us have really sat back to appreciate the actual science of it. For the past 10 weeks we have been flying, not just a day or two a week but five or six days a week depending on the…

  • The ‘Glory’ in Clouds and Other Amazing Sights!

    The ‘Glory’ in Clouds and Other Amazing Sights!

    If you look carefully at the picture below you will see a small shadow of our plane completely encircled in a rainbow. This optical phenomenon, called a “glory,” can develop when the plane flies directly between the sun and a cloud below. Flying over the ice sheet in the far northeast of Greenland we saw…

  • Our Best Flight Yet

    Our Best Flight Yet

    Evidence of the retreat of glaciers since the last glacial maximum (check), flying over sites of ancient Inuit, Norse and present day settlements (check), and a personal recollection of my own past in this location (check).

  • Exposing Greenland’s Green Past

    Exposing Greenland’s Green Past

    Findings from last year indicate that the Greenland Ice Sheet is perhaps not as stable as scientists had hoped.

  • Will Loss of Arctic Sea Ice Cause More ‘Snow on Ice’ in Greenland?

    Will Loss of Arctic Sea Ice Cause More ‘Snow on Ice’ in Greenland?

    Scientists are collecting lake sediment, rock, water and plant samples to tease apart linkages between Arctic sea ice, atmospheric uptake, and changes in snowfall on the Greenland Ice Sheet.

  • The Greenland Ice Sheet Is Sponging Up Meltwater

    The Greenland Ice Sheet Is Sponging Up Meltwater

    As climate warms, the surface of the Greenland ice sheet is melting, and all that meltwater ends up in seasonal rivers that flow to the sea. At least that is what scientists have assumed until now. A new study has shown that some of the meltwater is actually being soaked into porous subsurface ice and…

  • Radar Reveals Meltwater’s Year-Round Life Under Greenland Ice

    Radar Reveals Meltwater’s Year-Round Life Under Greenland Ice

    An improved technique developed by a graduate student at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and her colleagues is making it possible to use airborne ice-penetrating radar to reveal meltwater’s life under the ice throughout the year.

  • In Greenland, Exactly Where Meltwater Enters the Ocean Matters

    In Greenland, Exactly Where Meltwater Enters the Ocean Matters

    In southern Greenland in summer, rivers have been streaming off the ice sheet, pouring cold fresh water into the fjords. A new study tracks where that meltwater goes—with surprising results.

  • The Changing Upernavik Waterfront

    The Changing Upernavik Waterfront

    Project Background: Changing conditions in Greenland’s northwest glaciers over the last decade have led to a range of questions about water temperature and circulation patterns in the fjords where ocean water meets the glacial fronts.

  • The Art of Flying

    The Art of Flying

    Flying. It is something we are almost all familiar with, and yet I expect few of us have really sat back to appreciate the actual science of it. For the past 10 weeks we have been flying, not just a day or two a week but five or six days a week depending on the…

  • The ‘Glory’ in Clouds and Other Amazing Sights!

    The ‘Glory’ in Clouds and Other Amazing Sights!

    If you look carefully at the picture below you will see a small shadow of our plane completely encircled in a rainbow. This optical phenomenon, called a “glory,” can develop when the plane flies directly between the sun and a cloud below. Flying over the ice sheet in the far northeast of Greenland we saw…

  • Our Best Flight Yet

    Our Best Flight Yet

    Evidence of the retreat of glaciers since the last glacial maximum (check), flying over sites of ancient Inuit, Norse and present day settlements (check), and a personal recollection of my own past in this location (check).