Greenland ice sheet mass balance from 1986 through next week

Rising temperatures mean the mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet is steadily declining. As it dwindles, meltwater flows into the ocean, causing sea levels to rise and disrupting powerful ocean currents. Over the past three decades, the great Greenland Ice Sheet has shrunk by about 4.89 trillion tonnes. That’s equal to about 13.5 millimeters in sea-level rise around the world. The ice sheet has been shrinking ever faster as CO2 emissions climb, losing 39 billion tonnes each year during the 1990s and increasing to an average of 243 billion tonnes lost annually during the most recent decade.