Scientists detect phenomenon of sea level change from melting ice

Scientists now have unambiguous proof that a phenomenon critical to the impact of climate change exists.

The researchers found the sea level fingerprint of the Greenland ice sheet melt, which is a pattern of sea level change linked to melting ice, and they have found the exact pattern of sea level change linked to the melting ice.

It is the first time that a fingerprint has been measured. While scientists agreed that these fingerprints theoretically exist, the dynamic nature of the ocean had made it hard to identify them confidently until now.

The findings, which were possible with the help of high-resolution satellite observations, detail the unique pattern of sea level change linked to the Greenland ice sheet. The fingerprints are then factored into models to predict sea level rise.

This discovery adds confidence to the sea-level changes predicted by computational models. These predictions are critical for understanding the consequences of climate change and preparing for future hazards. Sophie Coulson, a postdoctoral fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory, said it is now more than clear that the melting of the Greenland ice sheet is accelerating. Coulson is the lead author of the study that led to the findings, which was published in Science.