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
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
A summer field campaign examines the hydrology of the water streaming across the top of the ice sheet.
Published Aug 30, 2015
A new map shows where the bottom of the Greenland Ice Sheet is likely thawed.
Published Aug 4, 2016
Crisscrossing glaciers in northwest Greenland flow along the path of least resistance.
Published Jan 22, 2015
As a result of the collision, blocks of ice slide above and below each other in a pattern that resembles a zipper or interlocking fingers.
Published Nov 22, 2017
Although 2005 overall saw a new record, the extent of June melting in 2005 was unexceptional. The same held true for 2006, when this picture was taken.
Published Jun 30, 2006
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
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
By 2090, the scale could tilt in the favor of ice loss instead of buildup.
Published Jan 31, 2017Image of the Day Heat Human Presence Snow and Ice Remote Sensing
NASA aircraft return to the Arctic to assess the health of the region’s ice.
Published May 3, 2012
New elevation measurements will give researchers an unprecedented understanding of the thickness of sea ice, which will be used to help improve climate modeling and forecasts.
Published Dec 18, 2018
A spectacular view of sea ice was captured during an Operation IceBridge flight in 2014; the mission surveyed ice at both poles again in 2015, this time simultaneously.
Published Oct 4, 2015
The impending birth of a big, new iceberg from Antarctica’s Larsen C Ice Shelf will not have an immediate effect on sea level, but it could be an indicator of future problems.
Published Apr 14, 2017
The heavily crevassed terminus of Kong Oscar Glacier in northwestern Greenland crumbles into a mélange of icebergs in the Davis Strait.
Published Aug 25, 2010
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