The Greenland Ice Sheet and Global Sea-Level Rise

摘要

The changing mass of the great ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica represents the largest unknown in predictions of global sea-level rise over the coming decades. At 1.7 million km~2, up to 3 km thick, and a little smaller than Mexico, the Greenland Ice Sheet would raise global sea level by about 7 m if it melted completely. This could take from a millennium to a few thousand years (if melting were the only mechanism by which it lost mass) depending on the magnitude of future wanning.