Over the past five years, an astonishing 930 million cubic meters of crevasses have opened across Greenland’s ice sheet equivalent to a crack the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza forming every few days. This rapid increase in fracturing, particularly in the ice sheet’s fast-moving regions, could trigger a dangerous feedback loop that accelerates ice loss and raises global sea levels.
A new multi-year study, led by researchers from the University of Florida and Durham University, provides the first large-scale analysis of Greenland’s glacier crevasses, spanning 2016 to 2021. The findings reveal significant variations across the ice sheet, with some areas especially in the west initially experiencing fewer crevasses, only to see an uptick in recent years. Overall, the study detected a sharp 25% rise in crevassing across several regions.
According to co-author Emma MacKie, Ph.D., an expert in machine learning techniques, monitoring crevasses in person is too dangerous, and manual satellite analysis is impractical. Instead, the team developed an automated detection system using three-dimensional satellite imagery from the Polar Geospatial Center.
The implications of this research are alarming. Crevasses weaken ice structures and accelerate glacial movement, leading to even more fractures. This cycle could significantly contribute to Greenland’s ongoing ice loss, which has already added 0.4 inches to sea levels since 1992 and is expected to contribute another foot by 2100.
“These positive feedback loops need to be factored into our climate models,” MacKie emphasized.
With funding from NASA and the National Science Foundation, this study underscores the urgent need for revised projections on Greenland’s melting ice—and its impact on rising oceans.