Study: Greenland shrinking, drifting northwest amid global warming

Greenland is shrinking and drifting northwest due to global warming, according to a new study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth.

Researchers from the Technical University of Denmark and other institutions analyzed data from 58 Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) monitoring stations around Greenland. Their findings show that the island is increasingly affected by twisting, compression and tension caused by plate tectonics and the movement in the bedrock. This movement is largely triggered by the melting of the large ice sheet above and the reduction in subsurface pressure.

Over the past two decades, Greenland has been moving northwest at an average rate of about 2 centimeters per year. These complex motions have caused parts of the island to stretch while others compress, altering its overall size. On the whole, Greenland is becoming smaller.

The Greenland Ice Sheet holds one of the world's largest reserves of freshwater – enough to raise global sea levels by 7.4 meters if fully melted. Every 1-centimeter rise in sea level could put roughly 6 million people worldwide at risk of coastal flooding, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Researchers noted that the melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet, driven by accelerating global climate change, poses far-reaching consequences – not only impacting Greenland itself but also threatening ecosystems and humans across the planet.