Extensive Snow Loss Increases Greenland’s Vulnerability to Cloud-Free Days

Nature Communications, 21 July 2022

Under a high-emissions scenario, ice loss driven by the absorption of heat from the sun could increase by one third across the Greenland Ice Sheet before the end of the century. Clouds act as a shield; they help prevent shortwave and longwave radiation reaching the ground. As global temperatures rise, the reflective snow cover retreats and exposes the dark surface of glacial ice to the sun. Multiple days of cloudless skies prevent snowfall from accumulating on the ice, allowing more solar radiation to penetrate through to reach its surface. Prolonged periods without clouds in combination with rapid snowmelt produce record-breaking ice loss rates, especially during the summer. Authors warn that the Greenland Ice Sheet will become twice as sensitive to absence of cloud cover by the end of the century if we follow a high-emissions pathway. This paper underscores the importance of reducing emissions to slow the Greenland Ice Sheet’s contribution to sea-level rise on a global scale and provide communities with the necessary time to develop and implement adaptation strategies.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-31434-w