Study: Melting Greenland Ice to Raise Sea Levels By 1ft

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Image copyright: Associated Press [via The New York Post]

The Facts

  • According to a study released on Mon., global warming will eventually cause zombie ice from Greenland's huge ice sheet to melt, causing global sea levels to rise by at least 10 inches (27 cm),

  • Zombie or doomed ice refers to the material attached to thicker areas that is no longer being fed by glaciers. Co-author of the new paper, geologist William Colgan of the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, has said that areas of zombie ice are melting because the parent glaciers are receiving less of the replenishing snow they need to survive.

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The Spin

Narrative A

This important study has produced a dire message - the rise of sea levels is coming, whether we act now to stop burning fossil fuels or not. Although the damage is not entirely reversible, if nations can effectively implement the Paris Climate Agreement, we could reduce the predicted rise in sea levels from 78cm to 27cm. There is still time to minimize the damage we are doing to the planet and avoid a more catastrophic future.

Guardian

Narrative B

Climate and environmental disasters have been predicted by modern-day doomsayers for decades. None of the apocalyptic predictions have come true so far; why would this time be any different?

Competitive Enterprise Institute

Metaculus Prediction