The rapidly shrinking Greenland Glacier is growing again

New research has revealed that a large Greenland glacier it was once one of the fastest shrinks on the planet.

Scientists from NASA's US space agency recently announced their findings on the Jakobshavn Glacier off the west coast of the island.

NASA said Jakobshavn was the fastest and most enlightening glacier in Greenland in 20 years. During this period, it was the largest source of mass loss in the Greenland ice sheet.

Because of the size and activity of the glacier, researchers have used it to predict sea level rise around the world. Scientists from NASA and other organizations have been observing Jakobshavn for many years.

Researchers participating in the study say that since 2016, the glacier has experienced significant thickening. It also sinks more slowly and heads towards the ocean, instead of retirement inside. They say that cooling water in the North Atlantic has caused changes in glacier activity. The colder waters reached Disko Bay in western Greenland.

NASA has stated that the temperature of the water in the areas around the glacier is currently lower than at any other time since the mid-1980s. The research is based on information collected by the mission Oceans Melting Greenland or OMG from NASA and other observations.

Ala Khazendar is a glacier scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. He helped lead the study.

"At first, we did not believe it," Khazendar said. "We had almost assumed that Jakobshavn would only continue as he had done in the last 20 years. "

The research team recorded cooling water near Jakobshavn for three consecutive years.

Jason Box is a scientist in the ice and climate sector for the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland. He was not part of the study. He told The Associated Press that the new discovery about Jakobshavn was surprising because it had been moving in the opposite direction for so long.

Box said, "The good news is that it's a recall that it does not necessarily go so fast. "

"But it's okay," he added.

A statement from NASA confirmed that, even with the new growth of Jakobshavn, it "continues to add to sea level rise". Scientists say this is because the glacier continues to lose more ice for the ocean than it gains with the snow. The rise in sea level occurs at a slower pace.

Researchers involved in the study as well as other scientists believe that Jakobshavn only experiences short-term changes.

The main reason they think this is due to the fact that cold water affecting the glacier was set in motion by a climate system called North Atlantic Oscillation. This causes a natural, temporary cooling and warming of different parts of the ocean.

The system is similar to El Niño conditions in the Pacific Ocean. El Niño develops when winds blowing off the South American coast weaken. This allows the warm waters of the western Pacific to move east.

The study identified a recent period that has resulted in "cooling the Atlantic in general". In addition, additional cooling occurred in 2016 in the waters off the southwest coast of Greenland, he added. The colder waters went up the coast and reached Jakobshavn.

Josh Willis is a senior scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He said that the latest research clearly shows that Jakobshavn "gets a temporary break" from a long-term climate model. But he warns that a large amount of existing research is proving that the world's oceans are warming more and more.

"And see the oceans have such a huge impact on the glaciers is bad news for the Greenland icecap, "he said.

I am Bryan Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

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Words in this story

glacier – not. very large area of ​​ice that moves slowly in a slope or valley or on a vast expanse of land

retreat – v. from one place to another

assume – v. think that something may be or is likely to be true but without real proof

recall – not. something that causes someone to remember something

temporary – adj. only for a short or limited time

model – not. in one particular way something is repeated

impact – not. the effect that something has on something else