NASA Explains How Do Glaciers Melt
Learn how glaciers melt and contribute to seas rising in this animated explainer from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Credit: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Credit: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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TechTranscript
00:00 The sheet of ice that covers Greenland contains enough frozen water to raise oceans by 25 feet across the globe.
00:07 As the planet warms, glaciers melt, causing sea levels to rise.
00:12 But not all of that melt happens at the surface.
00:16 In the summertime, rivers and pools of meltwater find their way down through the glacier to the bed below.
00:23 From there, the water runs beneath the glacier until it reaches the ocean.
00:27 Because meltwater contains no salt, it weighs less than ocean water and rises up the front of the glacier in what scientists call a plume.
00:36 Around Greenland, oceans are cold and fresh near the surface and warm and salty at depth.
00:42 As the plume rises, it draws in the warm, salty water melting the glacier face from the bottom up.
00:50 Eventually, a piece of the glacier breaks off, making an iceberg, in a process known as calving.
00:58 As the oceans warm, calving speeds up, causing glaciers to retreat and flow faster.
01:04 Faster glaciers dump more ice into the oceans and drive sea levels higher across the globe.