Greenland is a big island -- about the size of Saudi Arabia -- covered by ice and snow. But climate experts agree that frozen ground cover is melting at an accelerating pace, raising the sea level.
Greenland Icemelt
![Greenland’s supraglacial rivers are large and swift. Note researchers on right for scale! (UCLA/Laurence C. Smith)](https://gdb.voanews.com/4E2886CE-DBC8-416E-9656-6D4999DFE260_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Greenland’s supraglacial rivers are large and swift. Note researchers on right for scale! (UCLA/Laurence C. Smith)
![The UCLA-led study finds that a vast network of previously little-understood rivers and streams that flow on the ice sheet into the ocean could be a major factor contributing to rising sea levels. (UCLA/Laurence C. Smith)](https://gdb.voanews.com/66D339DC-EB78-4AB0-A17B-6C189C9A84AD_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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The UCLA-led study finds that a vast network of previously little-understood rivers and streams that flow on the ice sheet into the ocean could be a major factor contributing to rising sea levels. (UCLA/Laurence C. Smith)
![All of the 523 supraglacial rivers abruptly end in moulins, such as the one seen near the top of this photo. (UCLA/Laurence C. Smith)](https://gdb.voanews.com/F1A89607-351F-42CC-B3D0-B55493A01C43_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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All of the 523 supraglacial rivers abruptly end in moulins, such as the one seen near the top of this photo. (UCLA/Laurence C. Smith)
![Meltwater formed on the surface of the Greenland ice sheet rushes into supraglacial rivers that then fall into moulins or sinkholes such as the one shown here. (UCLA/Laurence C. Smith)](https://gdb.voanews.com/26F2B276-882B-47FF-82E5-59C400CF6440_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Meltwater formed on the surface of the Greenland ice sheet rushes into supraglacial rivers that then fall into moulins or sinkholes such as the one shown here. (UCLA/Laurence C. Smith)