Sea Ice Vanishes From Greenland's East Coast In March Over 20 Year Period - Montreal Gazette

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Twenty years ago, the waters along the east coast of Greenland above the Arctic Circle would have been choked with ice at this time of year, says Jon Egill Kristjansson of the University of Oslo. Not anymore. The new norm is what he sees out the window as his plane swoops down toward the sparkling Arctic waters - a fringe of sea ice, disintegrating along the edges and bathed in open water up and down Greenland's rugged coastline as far as the eye can see.

"It's likely because of global warming," says Kristjansson - warming that is linked not just to retreating sea ice, but to the demise of the ice sheets on Greenland that rise out of the sea like a massive white mountain range.

Greenland and its waters are among the remotest places on Earth, but they have a huge impact on the planet. The island, the biggest in the world, is covered in ancient ice that blankets an area larger than Quebec. If the ice melts, as many scientists fear it will, global sea levels are expected to rise six to seven metres, displacing millions from Florida to Bangladesh to Tuktoyaktuk.

Greenland also plays a leading role in shaping the world's climate, which is why an international team of atmospheric scientists is flying the east coast of Greenland this week. They are studying the winds that help drive the so-called global ocean conveyor belt that snakes around the world's oceans. The conveyor belt carries warm tropical water north that releases heat that wafts over Europe. The cooled water is then driven back into the deep ocean at several key spots near Greenland. There is concern the conveyor is weakening, and could eventually cut off the heat pump that makes Paris so much milder than Montreal.

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