High above the frozen surface of Greenland, a groundbreaking tool is transforming scientists’ understanding of how water flows through the Arctic sky.
A drone equipped with custom instruments has successfully provided the first high-resolution measurements of water vapor and its isotopic signatures above one of the world’s most enormous ice sheets.
Recent findings reveal a more complex water cycle that may impact future sea level rise. In summer 2022, researchers flew a fixed-wing drone 104 times from the East Greenland Ice-Core Project camp to measure air water vapor and analyze its isotopes.
These subtle differences serve as indicators of water’s origins and its changes in the atmosphere. Water constantly cycles through the planet, undergoing evaporation, freezing, sublimation, and condensation.
Its isotopic composition shifts during these processes, reflecting temperature, humidity, and interactions with other air masses. Isotopes are a powerful tool for reconstructing past climates and improving future models, as they are recorded in snow, ice, and vapor.
However, scientists have had limited access to isotope data from above Greenland. Traditional aircraft missions are costly and risky, while ground-based towers can only sample up to 25 meters above the surface. This leaves a significant data gap in the lower troposphere, where vapor exchange occurs.
To address this gap, Rozmiarek and his team used a 10-foot wingspan drone equipped with instruments to collect air samples and measure temperature and humidity up to 1,500 meters (about 5,000 feet). They also collected snow samples every 12 hours from depths of 1 cm and 5 cm, providing insights into the movement of water in and out of Greenland’s ice.
Isotopes offer a key advantage by capturing the history of phase changes, like evaporation and sublimation, that standard weather variables overlook. While temperature, pressure, and humidity don’t fully explain water behavior in the Arctic’s extreme conditions, isotopes retain a “memory” of the vapor’s origins and its journey.
Greenland contains about 8% of the world’s freshwater and has lost over 5 trillion tons of ice since 1992. Between fall 2023 and 2024, it lost approximately 55 gigatons of ice and snow, marking the 28th consecutive year of net ice loss. This loss primarily results from melting and calving, where large glacier chunks break off into the ocean.
Another process, sublimation, may have a more significant impact than previously thought. It happens when snow turns directly into vapor without becoming liquid. The initial drone study is just the start; Rozmiarek and his team aim to expand their research to other Arctic regions.
They aim to create a more significant data set to improve models, inform climate projections, and monitor the real-time water cycle. With the Arctic warming rapidly, every discovery is crucial. By tracing water in the atmosphere, scientists uncover insights that could change how we prepare for a warming future.
Luke 17:26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
Luke 17:27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
Luke 17:28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
Luke 17:29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
Luke 17:30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
Luke 21:11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and diseases; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Luke 21:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
Luke 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
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