• According to a research by Technical University of Denmark, Greenland's melting ice, which causes sea levels to rise, disappeared four times faster in 2013 than in 2003 and is noticeable across the Arctic island, not just on glaciers.

Important highlights:

• While 111 cubic kilometres of ice disappeared per year in 2003, 10 years later this figure had almost quadrupled to 428 cubic kilometres. 
• Most of Greenland's ice melt was observed on the ice cap, predominantly on the glaciers in the island's northwest and southeast.
• But most of the ice loss from 2003 to 2013 was from Greenland's southwest region, which is largely devoid of large glaciers.
• Now it appeared that ice is melting from the surface mass which means that in the southwestern part of Greenland, growing rivers of water are streaming into the ocean.
• Large amounts of ice mass are going to leave as meltwater, as rivers that flow into the sea.
• The Greenland ice sheet -- up to three kilometres thick -- contains enough frozen water to raise global sea levels some six metres.
• While the amount varies from region to region, sea levels rose worldwide by an average of 20 centimetres (about eight inches) in the 20th century. They are currently rising by about 3.3 millimetres per year. 

Analysis:

• Greenland is an important cog in the global climate system. The ice sheet which covers 80% of the island reflects so much of the sun’s energy back into space that it moderates temperatures through what is known as the “albedo effect”. And since it occupies a strategic position in the North Atlantic, its meltwater tempers ocean circulation patterns.
• But Greenland is especially vulnerable to climate change, as Arctic air temperatures are currently rising at twice the global average rate. 
• In Greenland, like much of the Arctic, rising temperatures are thawing the permafrost. This means the active layer is growing by up to 1.5cm per year. This trend is expected to continue, seeing as under current IPCC predictions, Arctic air temperatures will rise by between 2.0°C and 7.5°C this century.
• Arctic permafrost contains more than 1,500 billion tonnes of dead plants and animals (around 1,500 billion walrus equivalent) which we call “organic matter”. Right now, this stuff has been frozen for thousands of years. But when the permafrost thaws this organic matter will decay, releasing carbon and methane (another greenhouse gas) into the atmosphere.
• If thawing continues, it’s estimated that by 2100 permafrost will emit 850-1,400 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent (for comparison: total global emissions in 2012 was 54 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent). All that extra methane and carbon of course has the potential to enhance global warming even further.