Climate Trivia: Sea Level and Ice Melt
By most estimates, Earth’s sea level rose by 3.5 mm per year between 1993 and 2006. About one-seventh of this sea level rise can be attributed to ice melt on one island – two to three days worth of the summertime melt water from the island could supply the New York Metropolitan area’s water needs for a year!
Trivia Question: Which island is this?
a. Baffin Island
b. Hokkaido (Japan’s northernmost Island)
c. Hawaii’s Big Island
d. Greenland
The correct answer is d. Greenland’s ice sheet, the world’s second largest ice sheet behind the Antarctic ice sheet, has been losing more ice during the summer melt season than it gains during the cold season. For the past few decades, Greenland has been losing about 57 cubic miles of ice each year. For further comparison, this ice melt is about 14 times the annual flow of the Colorado River.
Seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall
Sources: Steffen, K. “Cryospheric Contributions to Sea-Level Rise and Variability.” United States Senate, Washington, DC. 3 May 2007. Accessed Online 21 May 2010
