Surprising link between ice and atmosphere: GPS can now measure ice melt, change in Greenland over months rather than years

For the first time, scientists have identified tropical and subtropical species of marine protozoa living in the Arctic Ocean. Apparently, they traveled thousands of miles on Atlantic currents and ended up above Norway with an unusual — but naturally cyclic — pulse of warm water, not as a direct result of overall warming climate, say the researchers. On the other hand: Arctic waters are warming rapidly, and such pulses are predicted to grow as global climate change causes shifts in long-distance currents.

For several days this month, Greenland’s surface ice cover melted over a larger area than at any time in more than 30 years of satellite observations. Nearly the entire ice cover of Greenland, from its thin, low-lying coastal edges to its 2-mile-thick center, experienced some degree of melting at its surface, according to measurements from three independent satellites.

Researchers have found a way to use GPS to measure short-term changes in the rate of ice loss on Greenland — and reveal a surprising link between the ice and the atmosphere above it.