Is Greenland losing land ice?

Data from satellites and expeditions confirm Greenland has been losing land ice at an accelerating rate for decades.

Glaciers gain ice via snowfall, while melting and ice breaking off into the ocean account for nearly all of Greenland’s ice-sheet loss. Rates vary season to season and year to year due to weather variation—however, multi-decade trends show ongoing loss.

Satellites launched in the early 1990s measure ice sheet height and gravity to detect changes in mass. They have found that Greenland has lost ice every year since 1998; from 2010 to 2018, average annual ice loss was six times that of the 1990s.

Greenland has lost 5,000 gigatons of ice since 2002. Rising global temperatures of about 2°F (1.1°C) since widespread fossil fuel burning began have driven the melt. Scientists warn that positive feedback loops such as the melting of methane-rich permafrost will further accelerate ice loss.