+
Sign up for
The Upworthiest
Our top stories of the day delivered straight to your inbox.
upworthy

greenland

Heroes

Greenland turning rainbow-colored seems funny, but the truth behind it is no joke.

Greenland is supposed to look like this, right?

[rebelmouse-image 19529223 dam="1" original_size="750x491" caption="Photo from David Mark/Pixabay." expand=1]Photo from David Mark/Pixabay.

So why are parts of it starting to look like this?

Colored ice down in Antarctica. Photo from Serge Ouachée/Wikimedia Commons.

That's no snow cone.

It's ice down in Antartica, and Greenland's stating to look that way too. The normally pale ice that covers 80% of the islands' surface has been turning some weird colors recently — green, yes, but also brown, and pink, and red.

What the heck is going on here? The answer: teeny, tiny, microscopic algae.

Out on the ice might seem like a weird place for anything to grow, but for cold-adapted algae, it's home. They can come in a wide range of colors. There are even pink species that create so-called "watermelon snow."

[rebelmouse-image 19529225 dam="1" original_size="750x413" caption="Watermelon snow near Mount Rainier. Photo from brewbooks/Flickr." expand=1]Watermelon snow near Mount Rainier. Photo from brewbooks/Flickr.

This is more important than you might think, especially if you live on the coast.

Dark colors absorb more sunlight, which makes those spots out on the ice warmer. This is known as the albedo effect and could make the ice sheet melt faster, which is in turn connected to sea level rise. Researchers say hundreds of cities and towns in the United States could flood thanks to rising sea levels.

These colorful changes are pretty incredible, but they're also evidence the Earth is changing.

There are still things we can do to help head off the worst effects of climate change, but this is a serious problem, and we need to take it seriously. If we don't, Greenland might really start living up to it's name.

Scientists in Belgium find a surprising reason why Greenland's glacier is melting so fast.

A team of scientists in Belgium has discovered a somewhat counterintuitive reason the Greenland ice sheet is melting at night.

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images.

The surprise culprit? Clouds.

Jerks. Photo by Sy Clark/Flickr.

It may seem just ... kind of wrong to the many of us whose brains reflexively associate "clouds" with "chilly." If cloudy weather indeed equals cold weather, ice should ... stay frozen better on a cloudy day, right? According to this new study, however, increased cloud cover over the glacier actually accelerates the rate of melting.

Here's how it works, according to Kristof Van Tricht, University of Leuven professor and lead author on the paper:

"Over the entire Greenland ice sheet, clouds raise the temperature, which triggers additional meltwater runoff: 56 billion tons per year — a third more than clear skies. Contrary to what you would expect, this effect is not so much visible during the daytime melting process, but rather during the following night. A snowpack is like a frozen sponge that melts during the day. At night, clear skies make a large amount of meltwater in the sponge refreeze. When the sky is overcast, by contrast, the temperature remains too high and only some of the water refreezes. As a result, the sponge is saturated more quickly and excess meltwater drains away."

In other words...

The clouds basically act as a giant, celestial Snuggie for the glacier.

Overcast skies at night prevent heat — which builds up during the day while the sun is out — from escaping from the surface of the ice sheet. That heat makes it too warm for the water on the glacier's surface to refreeze when it's supposed to — and once the water drains off the glacier, it's lost forever.

Climate change is the elephant in the room here.

An iceberg that cleaved off the Greenland ice sheet. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images.

Of course, the results of the study would just be a cool, neat, "ain't science something" thing if the melting of the Greenland ice sheet didn't have the potential to cause seriously catastrophic problems for everyone on Earth.

At the current rate, Greenland is losing over 300 billion tons of ice a year. The consequences of the ensuing sea level rise are expected to include anything from increased flooding during storms to the evacuation of coastal cities — basically, nothing terribly desirable.

Researchers hope that identifying this new behavior will help them predict future melting events — and the overall rate of sea level swell — more effectively, rendering them better able to gird humanity's loins for the worst (or, at least, the not-so-good).

In the meantime, continuing to ratchet back all the carbon we're putting in the air will only help things for the better.

The major climate agreement signed in Paris last year is super ambitious with good reason: We need a super ambitious plan if we're going to have any hope of limiting the damage to our sea and sky that's already begun, and we need to make sure we stick to it.

That means electing politicians who not only believe that manmade climate change is a real thing, but are willing to take the necessary policy steps — de-incentivizing the burning of fossil fuels while investing in renewable energy — that will help us snuff it out for good.

That way, those bastard clouds can't threaten us anymore.

That's right: Back off, sickos. Photo by Sy Clark/Flickr.

Heroes

13 devastating photos to show your friend who doesn't believe in climate change.

Climate change: It's real, folks.

Human activity is affecting our planet. Big time.

Don't take my word for it, though — take the 97% of climate scientists' who believe climate change is not, um, voodoo, but, in fact, areal thing largely caused by us.

Although science says climate change is certainly happening, however, Americans are a bit less sure. In a Gallup poll published back in March, only slightly over half the country believes the effects of global warming are occurring.

That ... isn't good. Because, as Dana Nuccitelli wrote for The Guardian, when people are less certain of climate change, they're, of course, less inclined to fight it.

"Research has shown that perception of consensus is linked to support for climate policy. This is true along most of the ideological spectrum — when people are aware of the expert consensus on human-caused global warming, they are more likely to support taking action to solve the problem."

So, in order to convince your friend/dad/aunt/neighbor that climate change is not actually a vast conspiracy so that we can push progress along...

Here are 13 astounding images that reflect how drastically climate change has already altered planet Earth.

1. A critical water shortage in Lodwar, Kenya, is no joke.

East Africa has been hit hard by a critical shortage of water, which climate change has only exacerbated. We'll be seeing a lot more droughts, like this one in 2009, due to rising global temperatures. Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images.

2. The Passu Glacier in Pakistan is disappearing. Quickly.

This photo, taken in September 2015, shows a shrinking Passu Glacier in Pakistan's Gojal Valley. It's melting, and fast. Thanks, climate change. Photo by Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images.

3. Bedono, Indonesia, is no stranger to massive flooding...

These floodwaters in Bedono, Indonesia, in 2013 were no laughing matter. Just like we can expect more droughts, we can also expect more flooding due to a warming planet. Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images.

4. ...Neither is Somerset, United Kingdom...

This flood from 2014 in England wiped out an outrageous amount of farmland. In general, climate change means wet places will get wetter, and dry places get drier. (In both cases, not good.) Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images.

5. ...Or Fischbeck, Germany.

OK, last flood photo (I swear). But doesn't this one truly show how big of a deal this is? It was taken back in 2013. You can imagine how dangerous these flood were — to both the region's wildlife and people. Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images.

6. Brush fires, like this one in Lake Hughes, California, will be getting more and more common.

This photo, taken in 2013 in Southern California, hits particularly close to home. Forest fires — a symptom of climate change that will only get worse with rising temperatures (remember when I mentioned dry places getting drier?) — remain a serious concern in the Golden State. Photo by David McNew/Getty Images.

7. And polluted air, seen here in Wuhan, China, will make Earth warmer while hurting our health.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is air pollution, captured in 2009 in Wuhan. Our addiction to burning fossil fuels doesn't just contribute to the planet's warming — it's downright terrible for our health. (I would not want to be a pair of lungs in that city.) Photo by STR/AFP/Getty Images.

8. Isn't Greenland gorgeous? But wait ... there's a catch.

Whoa, the glacial ice sheet of Greenland is freaking gorgeous. Unfortunately (I hate to be Debbie Downer, but), that beautiful blue streak you see there? It's melted water. And that's not a good sign for coastal cities around the world, seeing as melting ice means rising sea levels. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images.

9. That big red blob in the Gulf Coast? Yeah, not good.

This satellite image of the Gulf Coast from 2008 captures Hurricane Gustav. It/he was a Category 3 storm that tore through Louisiana and endangered thousands. Climate change means more severe storms, just like this guy. Photo by NOAA via Getty Images.

10. Vincennes Bay, Antarctica, is getting warmer (and wetter).

This image, taken in Antarctica in 2008, is beautiful ... but also sad. Similar to what's happening in Greenland, the ice near Earth's poles is melting. And Vincennes Bay is no exception. Photo by Torsten Blackwood - Pool/Getty Images.

11. And Tehuacán, Mexico, is getting hotter (and drier).

A water hole in Tehuacán has definitely seen better days. The region, captured here in 2006, has been drastically affected by climate change, suffering from long, dire water shortages. Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images.

12. Coastlines, like this one in Shishmaref, Alaska, are literally falling into the sea.

This is Alaska in 2006. Rising temperatures have resulted in less sea ice and thawing of coastline permafrost, which, in turn, means more erosion. And more erosion means beach communities can end up looking like this. Photo by Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images.

13. And Marree, Australia, is one hot place.

Australia — already a pretty warm place — is getting hotter because of climate change. This photo, taken of the outback in 2005, shows what increasingly hot temperatures are doing to landscapes Down Under. Photo by Ian Waldie/Getty Images.

You just saw 13 depressing photos and feel hopeless and helpless and #OmgTheWorldIsEnding, right?

Don't feel that way!

The good news: People are increasingly waking up to the reality of climate change. Increased pressure on leaders to fight warming temperatures (both in the U.S. and abroad) has resulted in more eco-friendly policies around the world. And at the end of November, world leaders will gather in Paris for the United Nations COP21 summit with a mission to combat climate change for decades to come.

So what can you do this very moment? Fight oil drilling in the Arctic. Put more pressure on the president to make climate change action a top priority. Or learn how to live a little bit greener every day, just by doing the simple things.

The problem of climate change can seem overwhelming. But it's problem we created, and it's a problem only we can fix.

Heroes

Why are new rivers carving through Greenland, and can we stop them?

True
Natural Resources Defense Council

It's no big secret that our planet's heating up.

You can tell just by looking at the average temperatures over the last hundred years.

There's also the fact that, oh yeah, Greenland is literally melting.

Yup, that's a puddle of melted ice. Not actually a river leading to a lake. WHOOPS. GIF via New York Times.

That's why Dr. Laurence Smith and his team are getting their feet wet and hands dirty on Greenland's glaciers.

Perhaps more accurately, they are risking life and limb as they contend with frostbite and sinkholes in the cracking ice in an attempt to gather the most up-to-date and accurate on-the-ground evidence of climate change ever.

“We scientists love to sit at our computers and use climate models to make those predictions. But to really know what's happening, that kind of understanding can only come about through empirical measurements in the field," Dr. Smith, the head of the geography department at UCLA, told the New York Times (in a super-cool multimedia story that you should totally check out).

GIF via New York Times.

As the icy landmass crumbles beneath their feet, they're out there recording information on the velocity, volume, temperature, and depth of the thousands and thousandsof rushing rivers of melted water that have carved their way through Greenland due to rising global temperatures.

We're talkin' 430,000 gallons of water per minute flowing off the ice and into sinkholes called moulins that lead out into the ocean.

Did I mention that if the entire Greenland ice sheet melts, they're currently predicting that it could cause the sea to rise by a whopping 20 feet? 'Cause that's fun.

GIF via New York Times.

Until now, most climate scientists have relied on computer models to predict the changing shape of the world.

The physical evidence of climate change right outside is pretty hard to deny. But scientists have spent the last few decades trying to come up with computer calculations to predict exactly what will happen if our rate of carbon consumption continues.

430,000 gallons of water per minute is flowing off the ice and into the ocean.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of factors involved in climate conditions. As a result, these theoretical models have not perfectly predicted the future — a fact which those who reject mainstream climate science love to use as justification for their willful ignorance.

Case in point: Just this past year, when the overall sea level rose a whole one-quarter of a millimeter less than predicted.

To recap: Sea levels are in fact still rising, and the world is in fact heating up overall. But climate change isn't real because something something margin of error and science uh-huh OK sure.

GIF from "Easy A."

While these new calculations won't stop what's happening, they'll at least help us prepare for what we're about to face.

For example, if we can predict with greater accuracy (like, less than a quarter-of-a-millimeter off) just how much the water levels are going to rise in the years to come, we can enact a plan to build seawalls or other structures to stop flooding and save our coastal cities ( like that same quaint New England one that I call home ahhhhhhhhh).

GIF via New York Times.

But preventive treatment to stop the effects of climate change also means taking action to end the damage that we're doing right now. It's no use wasting taxpayer dollars on research that we ourselves are rendering useless to plan for a future that we won't live to see.

In the meantime, you can check out this stunning drone video of Greenland's melting glaciers — just as long as you promise to remind yourself that the beautiful sparkling landscape is neither natural nor good.

Trending Stories