Especially, on a number of days in June and July, melt was discovered throughout up to 50 percent– comparable to 800,000 square kilometers (302,000 square miles)– of the Greenland Ice Sheets surface area. Given that September 2021, when Landsat 9 signed up with Landsat 8 in orbit over Earth, scientists have actually been getting more regular comprehensive views of Earth. The Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 satellites together acquire about 1,500 scenes from across the planet every day. As the snow and ice melt, these impurities are left behind. Deep blue in color, they form where snow has actually melted and pooled in low areas on the ice sheets undulating topography.
The other image (lower), gotten with the OLI-2 on Landsat 9, reveals the very same location on July 24, after more than a month of additional melting. There is a dramatic reduction in the level of better (high albedo) surface snow that is quickly observed.
Increased Monitoring Capabilities With Landsat 9
Because September 2021, when Landsat 9 joined Landsat 8 in orbit over Earth, researchers have actually been getting more frequent comprehensive views of Earth. The Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 satellites together get about 1,500 scenes from across the planet every day. That comes in convenient for observing the planets icy areas, where seasonal modifications can be remarkable and quick.
Transition From “Clean” Snow to “Dirty” Ice
Another seasonal modification noticeable in the image pair above is the transition from “clean” snow to “dirty” ice. One reason for the darker color is due to the existence of particles, such as black carbon or dust, that have actually accumulated on the ice. As the snow and ice melt, these pollutants are left behind. Darkening of the ice surface decreases its albedo, which can speed up melting through the absorption of additional solar energy in the summer season.
Abundant melt ponds show up about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Frederikshåb in this image recorded by OLI-2 on Landsat 9 on July 8, 2023.
Look of Melt Ponds
Another obvious change is in the introduction of ponded water, or “melt ponds,” on the surface area of the ice sheet. Deep blue in color, they form where snow has actually melted and pooled in low areas on the ice sheets undulating topography. They can be an important indicator of the strength of Greenlands melting season, which typically ranges from May to early September.
Just a few melt ponds are visible in the July 24 image (top-lower), possibly due to the fact that meltwater had actually already run the ice sheet or been directed down through the ice. Nevertheless, plentiful melt ponds were visible about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Frederikshåb on July 8, when the OLI-2 on Landsat 9 got the image above.
Impact of Seasonal Weather Changes
These transformations are consequences of the increase in summer heat that embeded in across the area in late June. At that time, warm southwesterly winds and clear skies substantially magnified the amount of melting on the ice sheet, specifically towards the islands south.
Contrast With Previous Melting Seasons
Up until now in Greenlands 2023 melting season, spikes in everyday melt location have stayed listed below those of 2012, a year with remarkably widespread melting. Still, since mid-July, day-to-day melt degrees have been regularly greater than the 1981-2010 average, and 2023 is on par with numerous other high melt years in recent decades.
” The drama of extraordinary melt in 2012 may not be exceeded this year,” said Christopher Shuman, a University of Maryland, Baltimore County, glaciologist based at NASAs Goddard Space Flight. “But up until now, 2023 looks to be a huge, broad melt year.”
NASA Earth Observatory images by Wanmei Liang, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.
Satellite image of Frederikshåb Glacier caught on June 14, 2023, by the Operational Land Imager on Landsat 8.
Satellite picture of Frederikshåb Glacier recorded on July 24, 2023, by the Operational Land Imager on Landsat 8.
Warm weather triggered substantial melting in June and July 2023, specifically on the southern part of the island.
More than halfway through the 2023 melting season, G a significant change of Greenlands snow cover has been observed. There has actually been above-average melting throughout the majority of the season. Especially, on several days in June and July, melt was detected across up to 50 percent– comparable to 800,000 square kilometers (302,000 square miles)– of the Greenland Ice Sheets surface. This is according to data comes from the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
The Impact on Frederikshåb Glacier
Summer season melting was ramping up on June 14, 2023, when Landsat 8s Operational Land Imager (OLI) obtained this image (top) of Frederikshåb Glacier. This lobe-shaped piedmont glacier, situated in southwest Greenland, streams downward from the Greenland Ice Sheet, winds past a series of valleys and nunataks, then flattens out on smoother terrain along the coast.