Greenland Ice Sheet - Increased Precipitation

Increased Precipitation

Warmer temperatures in the region have brought increased precipitation to Greenland, and part of the lost mass has been offset by increased snowfall. However, there are only a small number of weather stations on the island, and though Satellite data can examine the entire island, it has only been available since the early 1990s, making trending difficult. It has been observed that there is more precipitation where it is warmer, up to 1.5 meters per year on the SE flank, and where cooler less or nil (25–80% of the island depending on the time of year). Actual figures for precipitation are available in "New precipitation and accumulation maps for Greenland", A. Ohmura and N. Reeh, Journal of Glaciology, 1991.

Data from NASA's Polar program confirms that the average elevation change above 2,000 m (6,562 ft) "was not significant".

Read more about this topic:  Greenland Ice Sheet

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