Places in News: Greenland

January 19, 2024

Context:

In the new study, researchers found that over 1,000 gigatons or 20% of ice around the edges of Greenland had been lost over the past four decades.

Greenland Lost 20% More Ice Than Previously Estimated: Study

Impact of Global Warming on Glaciers: Researchers found that the Greenland glaciers are most susceptible to seasonal changes and are most sensitive to the impact of global warming and experienced the most significant retreat since 1985.
Melting Ice Sheet & Sea level Rise: Greenland’s vast ice sheet is the world’s second-largest after Antarctica, its melting is estimated to have contributed more than 20% to observed sea level rise since 2002.

About Greenland

Greenland: It is the world’s largest island, lying in the North Atlantic Ocean.
- The Greenlandic people call their homeland Kalaallit Nunaat (“Country of the Greenlanders”)
Capital: Nuuk
Highest Point: Gunnbjorn’s Fjeld
Location: It is located in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northeastern coast of Canada, bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean; on the west by Smith Sound, Baffin Bay and the Davis Strait; and on the east by the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans.
- It is the world’s largest (non-continent) island.
- It shares its maritime borders with Canada, Iceland and Norway.
- It is positioned both in the Northern and Western hemispheres of the Earth.

Greenland Map

Physical Feature: It is noted for its vast tundra and immense glaciers.
- One of the largest glaciers is the Peterman.
Greenland’s major physical feature is its massive ice sheet, which is second only to Antarctica’s in size and covers over four-fifths of Greenland’s total land area.
- In Greenland, the sun does not set from May 25 to July 25 and July is the only month when the temperature reaches above freezing.
Greenland Sea: It is an outlying portion of the Arctic Ocean, which lies south of the Arctic Basin proper and borders Greenland (west), Svalbard (east), the main Arctic Ocean (north), and the Norwegian Sea and Iceland (south).
National Park: Northeast Greenland National Park is the world’s largest national park.