Greenland's Ice Sheets

 

The image captures part of the Greenland's ice sheets. Covering about 80% of the continent's surface, this is the second largest mass of ice in the world, after Antarctica, and spans about 1.7 million square kilometers (larger than the state of Amazonas).

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Together, Antarctica and Greenland's glaciers contain more than 99% of Earth's freshwater ice and both are disappearing each year, raising concerns about the rate of ice melting and substantial sea level rising in the coming decades.

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Image taken in

June 23, 2011

ENVISAT