acquired June 1 - August 31, 2011
...The darkening, says Box, (click here) is due to changes in the shape and size of the ice crystals in the snowpack. As temperatures rise, snow grains clump together and reflect less light than the many-faceted, smaller crystals (see lower image from a scanning electron microscope). Additional heat rounds the sharp edges of the crystals, and round particles absorb more sunlight than jagged ones.
This is getting 'particular' in how the melting is viewed, but, it is the 'correct' view of the melting.
The crystals are not reflective. They are less pretty, but, they are also without multiple edges to reflect the light that hits it. Like a prism. Right.
In the left each aspect of the crystals of the ice have 'edges' that will reflect the light back into the atmosphere. That ended last year with the consolidation of the crystals differently as on the right. It wasn't cold enough anymore to consolidate the tiny crystal, molecules by molecule as before. They were too wet. They were ice, but, they were not frigid accumulation of the ice 'particles.'
So, with less reflectivity, it means there is more ABSORPTION of the light and darker color of ice results, Thus, more infrared reflected back in the area of the ice sheet and less sustainable ice formations.
The melting of 2010 was considered alarming.
2010 was an exceptional year (lick here) for Greenland’s ice cap. Melting started early and stretched later in the year than usual. Little snow fell to replenish the losses. By the end of the season, much of southern Greenland had set a new record, with melting that lasted 50 days longer than average....
That was before last year when the ice changed color.
Nearly the entire ice sheet covering Greenland (click title to entry - thank you) —from its thin coastal edges to its two-mile-thick center—experienced some degree of melting for several days in July 2012. According to measurements from three satellites and an analysis by NASA and university scientists, an estimated 97 percent of the top layer of the ice sheet had thawed at some point in mid-July, the largest extent of surface melting observed in three decades of satellite observations....
I knew the heat transfers systems off the Equator would add to the melting in an exponential way, but, this was a tipping point.
The Greenland Ice Sheet is among the largest ice formations on Earth, including the Arctic Ocean and Antarctica. This is an incredible finding to realize how much the icefields of Earth are being lost. No one should be completely surprised. It isn't as though these exceptionally large ice formation are in a freezer or extremely cold to maintain themselves.
The large ice formations are frozen, but, the difference between 31 degrees Fahrenheit and 33 degrees Fahrenheit is still only two degrees. This is very bad news.
...The darkening, says Box, (click here) is due to changes in the shape and size of the ice crystals in the snowpack. As temperatures rise, snow grains clump together and reflect less light than the many-faceted, smaller crystals (see lower image from a scanning electron microscope). Additional heat rounds the sharp edges of the crystals, and round particles absorb more sunlight than jagged ones.
This is getting 'particular' in how the melting is viewed, but, it is the 'correct' view of the melting.
The crystals are not reflective. They are less pretty, but, they are also without multiple edges to reflect the light that hits it. Like a prism. Right.
In the left each aspect of the crystals of the ice have 'edges' that will reflect the light back into the atmosphere. That ended last year with the consolidation of the crystals differently as on the right. It wasn't cold enough anymore to consolidate the tiny crystal, molecules by molecule as before. They were too wet. They were ice, but, they were not frigid accumulation of the ice 'particles.'
So, with less reflectivity, it means there is more ABSORPTION of the light and darker color of ice results, Thus, more infrared reflected back in the area of the ice sheet and less sustainable ice formations.
2010 was an exceptional year (lick here) for Greenland’s ice cap. Melting started early and stretched later in the year than usual. Little snow fell to replenish the losses. By the end of the season, much of southern Greenland had set a new record, with melting that lasted 50 days longer than average....
That was before last year when the ice changed color.
So, the image on the left below from July 8, 2012 was somewhat of what one would expect. Advancing melt from years before, but, what was not expected occurred on July 12, 2012.
It was alarming when the massive melt occurred from 2010, then darker ice from 2011.
The more massive melting of July 8, 2012 was expected and alarming enough. But, to realize the Greenland Ice Sheet is becoming decimated is extraordinarily alarming.
It was alarming when the massive melt occurred from 2010, then darker ice from 2011.
The more massive melting of July 8, 2012 was expected and alarming enough. But, to realize the Greenland Ice Sheet is becoming decimated is extraordinarily alarming.
The word "MEANDER" enters my mind.
Nearly the entire ice sheet covering Greenland (click title to entry - thank you) —from its thin coastal edges to its two-mile-thick center—experienced some degree of melting for several days in July 2012. According to measurements from three satellites and an analysis by NASA and university scientists, an estimated 97 percent of the top layer of the ice sheet had thawed at some point in mid-July, the largest extent of surface melting observed in three decades of satellite observations....
I knew the heat transfers systems off the Equator would add to the melting in an exponential way, but, this was a tipping point.
The Greenland Ice Sheet is among the largest ice formations on Earth, including the Arctic Ocean and Antarctica. This is an incredible finding to realize how much the icefields of Earth are being lost. No one should be completely surprised. It isn't as though these exceptionally large ice formation are in a freezer or extremely cold to maintain themselves.
The large ice formations are frozen, but, the difference between 31 degrees Fahrenheit and 33 degrees Fahrenheit is still only two degrees. This is very bad news.
