Satellite Shows Greenland Ice Sheet Melting Even At High Altitudes; In NW Sector, Ice "Like Sherbet"

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The image based on data from the Shizuku satellite shows ice melting on Greenland in blue. (Provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)

QAANAAQ, Greenland--Greenland's ice sheets are melting extensively, even in some inland areas, according to an image generated from data obtained by a Japanese climate-observation satellite.

Data from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Shizuku satellite shows the ice has been in retreat most noticeably in the southern part of the vast island. "In the south, ice is melting in many locations, even in inland areas at high altitudes," said Kazuhiro Naoki, who analyzed the satellite data.

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On July 16, they surveyed an ice sheet in the northwestern region of the land mass, located at an altitude of 1,500 meters. They found the surface of the ice had melted and become "like sherbet" as temperatures reached 2 degrees. They also observed rainfall of around 10 centimeters over a three-day period.

Teruo Aoki, senior researcher at the Meteorological Research Institute of the Japan Meteorological Agency who took part in the observations for three weeks, expressed his surprise. "I had not expected rain to fall there," he said. "The melting was greater than expected."

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http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201207180031

[phantom power]

1. yay!