Climate of Our Future

TreeHugger

One tricky aspect of measuring the rate of melting of Greenland and Antarctica’s huge ice sheets has been accounting for an effect known as “post-glacial rebound” of the Earth’s crust. This effect — which occurs when the crust is relieved of the burden of ice — manifests itself as a shifting and springing back of the planet’s crust.

In an effort to correct for this effect, an international team of scientists are mounting the first expedition to install 24 GPS stations around Greenland’s coast. They will be able to monitor even minute vertical and lateral changes in the Earth’s crust — which they’ll beam out as readings. To make sure they stay… Read more