To understand ice sheets, glaciologists venture both below the surface with ice cores, and into the sky with satellites. Satellite imagery of the Greenland Ice Sheet reveals melt ponds that can affect glacier flow and sea level.
Published Oct 29, 2008
Melt ponds on the surface of Greenland’s ice sheet are an important indicator of the strength of the 2013 melt season.
Published Jul 9, 2013
Thinner than the 2.3-kilometer-thick center, the outer edges of the Greenland ice sheet develop melt zones like the one shown here during the warm summer months.
Published Apr 7, 2007
Sections of the Greenland Ice Sheet that end on land are slowing—a sliver of good news for sea level rise.
Published Oct 30, 2015
On Greenland, tens of thousands of years of snowfall have settled and solidified into a massive sheet of ice. Each summer, snow retreats briefly at low elevations, and a narrow strip of rocky coastline emerges. While some seasonal thawing is typical on Greenland, more dramatic changes are probably in store for the Greenland Ice Sheet in coming decades and centuries.
Published Aug 30, 2007
Pools of water grow on top of the ice sheet in summer, then sometimes disappear quickly. That water flushes out through glacial plumbing, carrying sediment and massive volumes of fresh water to the sea.
Published Mar 21, 2013
Captured near the end of 2012, this image shows a mixture of sea ice, land ice, and fresh snow.
Published Jan 6, 2013
A new map shows where the bottom of the Greenland Ice Sheet is likely thawed.
Published Aug 4, 2016
