Published on May. 9, 2026, 2:56 PM
In the last 10 years, the Greenland ice sheet has changed rapidly, and the European Space Agency stated that it has thinned along its edges. Greenland’s glaciers are dumping more ice into the sea, and the ice sheet as a whole has lost mass.
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Greenland’s Ice Sheet is shrinking, and the difference is visible from space. Its rapid melting could lead to “catastrophic consequences” for the entire world, says the European Space Agency.
The ESA released radar images from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite showing changes in the Greenland Ice Sheet, which covers 80% of the island’s surface. It’s the second-largest ice mass in the world, with the largest being the Antarctic Ice Sheet, according to the international organization devoted to space exploration.
The agency scanned an area, including three glaciers that form the main front ends of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream (NEGIS) from January to March, and analyzed the changes that occurred over that period. The NEGIS is a major drainage system that annually discharges 12–17% of the Greenland Ice Sheet into the North Atlantic Ocean. The images showed changes in the constantly moving ice.
Since 1880, sea level has risen around 8 to 9 inches, according to NOAA. (USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
In the last 10 years, the Greenland Ice Sheet has changed rapidly, and the ESA stated that it has thinned along its edges. Greenland’s glaciers are dumping more ice into the sea, and the ice sheet as a whole has lost mass.
The changes mark a larger issue affecting the entire world.