Thanks to new maps of the seafloor around Greenland\u2019s glaciers, scientists at the University of California, Irvine, believe that the glaciers may be more prone to melting from below than once thought. That\u2019s because the depths beneath the glaciers appear to have been underestimated, until now. <\/p>\n
The researchers combined data they\u2019d collected from seafaring trips in the area with other points from satellites and NASA\u2019s Operation Icebridge. By bringing all of the info together, they created maps showing the ocean floor around 14 Greenland glaciers, which showed that previous estimates of depth in the areas were as much as thousands of feet too shallow.<\/p>\n
In many other parts of the ocean, more depth wouldn\u2019t make much difference for melting. But around Greenland, where water down to 1,000 feet in depth is contributed from Arctic river runoff, it can be quite impactful. <\/p>\n
The new maps mean that previous studies relying on different measurements of depth to predict glacier melt may have revealed estimates far from what is most likely.<\/p>\n
Top image:\u00a0New maps show that the seafloor under Store Glacier is 1,500 feet deeper than previously thought. (Credit: Ian Fenty \/ NASA \/ JPL-Caltech)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Thanks to new maps of the seafloor around Greenland\u2019s glaciers, scientists at the University of California, Irvine, believe that the glaciers may be more prone to melting from below than once thought. That\u2019s because the depths beneath the glaciers appear to have been underestimated, until now. The researchers combined data they\u2019d collected from seafaring trips […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":25570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,44],"tags":[103,347,341,255],"class_list":["post-25574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-oceans-coasts","tag-news-2","tag-oceans-coasts","tag-snow-and-ice","tag-university-of-california"],"remote_post_permalink":false,"remote_post_featured_image":false,"yoast_head":"\n