New Study says Clouds a major reason behind rapidly melting Greenland Ice Sheet

A new study has claimed that clouds are playing a bigger role in the rapid melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is the second largest ice sheet in the world. Almost one-third of global the sea level rise has been attributed to this phenomenon.

The latest finding is in sharp contrast to previous studies conducted by scientists wherein they had concluded that clouds may not play that big a role in sea level rise.

Published on January 12, 2016, in Nature Communications, the study was led by the University of Leuven in Belgium.

Kristof Van Tricht, the graduate student who led the study, said with climate change at the back of our minds, and the disastrous consequences of a global sea level rise, there was need to understand these processes to make more reliable projections for the future.

Tristan L'Ecuyer, professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said, "Over the next 80 years, we could be dealing with another foot of sea level rise around the world. Parts of Miami and New York City are less than two feet above sea level; another foot of sea level rise and suddenly you have water in the city”.

A co-author of the study, L'Ecuyer said it meant that several statements given earlier by the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, which had even won the Nobel Peace Prize, were true and to an extent addressed the need to better account for clouds in climate models.

The study highlights how clouds are raising the temperature of the Greenland Ice Sheet by 2 to 3 degrees compared to cloudless skies and accounting for as much as 30% of the ice sheet melt. The study has also stressed the need to focus more on clouds vis-à-vis sea rise in future.