Military Aircraft Videos

NASA: Thinning of Greenland`s Ice Cap - Animation (2005)

2005.11.18. Based on recent research using NASA's airborne laser altimeter, scientists have identified pronounced thinning of Greenland's ice cap. In the following animation, blues indicate areas where the loss of ice is greatest, and yellows indicate regions that are apparently thickening. Gray areas indicate no significant change in ice thickness there. Notice how the thinning is most severe at the coasts. As ice melts near the edges, it gives up moisture to the slightly warmer air around it. That air rises to higher altitudes inland and the moisture precipitates out as snow, increasing inland elevations. Thus, a slight thickening in the interior supports observations of a greater net loss to the overall sum of Greenland's ice cap. Credit: NASA http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/icesat_billion.html