Greenlandic Ice Sheet

Description

Meltwater drains across the Greenlandic ice sheet approximately 75km southeast of Ilulissat. The ice sheet covers about 80% of Greenland; if it all melted, sea level would rise about 7.4 metres. As water pours down cracks in the ice it forms moulins, vertical shafts that carry meltwater to the base of the ice sheet. There it can speed the flow of ice by 50 to 100% in some slow-moving areas.