Part 1. Vocabulary
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intact |
/ inˈtakt/ adj - not damaged or impaired in any way; complete The church was almost in ruins, but its tower remained intact. |
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exceptional |
/ ˌIkˈsepSH (ə) n (ə) l/ adj - unusual; not typical Crime rates are exceptional this coming holidays. |
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erratic |
/ radik/ adj - not even or regular in pattern or movement; unpredictable Her breathing was erratic when she had a panic attack. |
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vulnerable |
/ ˈVəln (ə) rəb (ə) l/ adj - susceptible to physical or emotional attack or harm. Many people were in a vulnerable position during the pandemic. |
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instances |
/ ˈInstəns/ n (plural) - an example or single occurrence of something Spending millions of dollars on unused vaccines is a serious instance of corruption. |
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predict |
/ prəˈdikt/ v - say or estimate that (a specified thing) will happen in the future or will be a consequence of something. It is too early to predict what will happen to the coming elections. |
Part 2. Comprehension Questions
Where can the biggest ice sheet in the world be found?
How much ice did melt from 2011-2020?
How high will the global sea level will rise if the ice sheets were fully to melt?
What is the reason for the ice melting over the years?
What could possibly happen by 2100 to the global sea level?
Part 3. Article Reading
Greenland's ice sheet, the biggest ice sheet in the world behind Antarctica, has melted so much in the past decade that global sea levels rose by 1 centimeter, and trends predict sea levels can rise nearly a foot higher by the end of the century. Research published in the journal Nature Communications on Monday says 3.5 trillion tons of Greenland's ice sheet melted from 2011 to 2020, which would be enough to flood all of New York City in 14,700 feet of water.
The ice sheet covers more than 656,000 square miles, and if it were to fully melt, the global sea level would rise about 20 feet, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. While much of the ice sheet remains intact, researchers from the University of Leeds Center for Polar Observation and Modeling in Northern England found it is melting at an exceptional
rate, increasing 21% in the past 40 years.
"Observations show that extreme melt events in Greenland have become more frequent and more intense as well as more erratic -which is a global problem," Lin Gilbert, co-author of the study, said in a statement.
The team used satellite data from the European Space Agency to estimate the elevation of the ice sheet, the first time a space object has been used to do so. The team found that from 2011 to 2020, the runoff of Greenland's ice sheet averaged about 357 billion tons a year.
That would, on average, raise the global sea level about 1 millimeter a year, but during that time, two years-2012 and 2019-experienced exceptionally more runoff than others as extreme weather led to, "record-breaking levels of ice melting. " In 2019, the runoff was about 527 billion tons.
The discovery comes after the National Snow and Ice Data Center said the sheet's summer melt increased by 30% from 1979 to 2006 because of higher temperatures.
"Greenland is also vulnerable to an increase in extreme weather events," said lead author Thomas Slater. "As our climate warms, it's reasonable to expect that the instances of extreme melting in Greenland will happen more often - observations such as these are an important step in helping us to improve climate models and better predict
what will happen this century."
Slater added there are reasons to feel optimistic about not losing as much ice in the future, but his colleague and co-author, Amber Leeson, painted a dark future. Leeson said that by 2100, the global sea level can rise anywhere from 1 to 9 inches because of melting, which could be dangerous to coastal cities around the world.
Source: Jordan Mendoza, Wed, November 3, 2021, https://news.yahoo.com/