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NASA alert thaw "accelerated" a giant glacier in Greenland

The US space agency, NASA, said today that one of the largest glaciers in Greenland (Denmark) is melting at a "fast" speed that will have consequences that will be felt for decades to come.

EFE

This is the glacier Zachariae Isstrom, which alone collects about 5% of the ice covering the island (corresponding to 91 780 square kilometers) and has been reclassified from the "glaciológicamente stable" position that was awarded in 2012 " accelerated withdrawal ".



In a study funded by NASA and published today in "Science", the researchers found that Zachariae Isstrom is pouring 5,000 million tons of annual ice mass of the Atlantic Ocean.

If the ice were to melt completely, it would be able, alone, to raise sea levels worldwide more than 46 centimeters.

"The northern Greenland glaciers are changing rapidly. The shape and dynamics of Zachariae Isstrom have changed dramatically in recent years, "said report co-author and researcher at the University of California, Irvine Mouginot Jeremie.

"The glacier is it disintegrating and releasing large volume of icebergs into the ocean, which will mean that sea levels will rise in the coming decades," he said.

Alongside Zachariae Isstrom is another great glacier, Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden, also is melting rapidly, and both collect about 12% of the Greenland ice mass, so if the two completely disintegrate, the level the seas around the world would rise about a meter.

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