ESA and NASA Satellites Reveal Accelerated Greenland Ice Sheet Melting

Joint radar and laser data from CryoSat-2 and ICESat-2 highlight significant ice loss, impacting sea levels and global weather patterns.

Greenland's Ice Sheet thinned by an average of 1.2 meters between 2010 and 2023, with margins thinning over five times more rapidly.
Peak thinning reached 67 meters at Jakobshavn Glacier and 75 meters at Zachariae Isstrøm, reflecting dramatic changes in key outlet glaciers.
The ice sheet lost 2,347 cubic kilometers of volume over 13 years, equivalent to filling Africa's Lake Victoria, with extreme losses in 2012 and 2019 due to high summer temperatures.
CryoSat-2 and ICESat-2 data, using radar and laser technologies respectively, provide complementary measurements, achieving a 3% agreement in ice elevation change estimates.
The combined data offers unprecedented accuracy for monitoring ice loss and informs climate adaptation strategies for rising sea levels and disrupted weather systems.