Greenland Surface Melt trends

2022’s above-average spikes in Greenland surface melt paint a picture of an ice sheet retreating quickly. Melting across the Greenland Ice Sheet’s 1.7 million square kilometer surface is the main reason this immense store of frozen freshwater is now a leading contributor to sea-level rise around the world. While both melting and discharge are behind the ice sheet’s shrinkage, surface melting is becoming more important as the main culprit in the ice sheet’s decline.