Greenland has lost 3.5 trillion tonnes of ice over the past decade, increasing the global sea level by one centimetre and heightening the risk of flooding worldwide, according to a study published on Monday.
The international team of researchers made use of measurements from the European Space Agency (ESA)'s CryoSat-2 satellite mission, using estimates of surface elevation change over time.
The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, is the first to use satellite data to detect this phenomenon -- known as ice sheet runoff -- from space.
"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,” said study co-author Lin Gilbert from University College London (UCL) in the UK.