Globalwarming - Blog Posts

The worst nightmare I ever had was about global warming. At first, it was like hell on earth. Fire, fire everywhere. One could barely breathe through the smoke and the heat had people dropping like flies. Then, the flooding came; the water reached as high as the top of houses. I remember watching the news on a malfunctioning tv while sitting on a floating mattress that was becoming heavier with water by the second. I was scared and my family was long gone. The last thing I remember seeing before I choked on the water in my lungs and woke up was the sad blue eyes of an old man sitting on a rooftop, watching the world drown. #climatechangeisreal #climatechange #globalwarming @save_earth_ https://www.instagram.com/p/BnSUVUznRlp/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1spawy35br3es

Sea Level Rise

For thousands of years, sea level has remained relatively stable. But now, Earth’s seas are rising. Since the beginning of the 20th century, they have risen about eight inches, and more than two inches in the last 20 years alone!

As water warms, it expands and takes up more space. That means that when oceans warm, the sea level rises. This summer, we’ve been researching exactly how global warming has impacted Greenland’s ice sheet. Our ICESat-2 mission will use a laser to measure the height of the planet’s surface. Over time, we will be able to provide a record of elevation change, and estimate how much water has melted into the ocean from land ice change.

So how much ice are we actually losing? Great question, but the answer might shock you. In Greenland alone, 303 gigatons of ice was lost in 2014!

Since we know that ice is melting, we’re working to gain a better understanding of how much and how fast. We’re using everything from planes, probes and boats, to satellites and lasers to determine the impact of global warming on the Earth’s ice.

Follow along for updates and information: http://climate.nasa.gov/