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| Greenland | Photo: Pexels |
Greenland located between the United States and Europe is known as the world's largest island. Newly elected US President Donald Trump has expressed his desire to take control of Greenland, an autonomous region of Denmark, before taking office. He has said that he will spend money to gain control of Greenland, as well as use force if necessary.
Greenland is currently in the spotlight in world politics. Climatologists believe that Greenland plays a major role in regulating the weather and climate of various countries, including Europe.
New York University scientist David Holland said that Greenland is considered an open refrigerator door or thermostat for a warming world. Greenland is changing rapidly due to climate change. This area is warming four times faster than the rest of the world.
Greenland has huge reserves of billions of barrels of oil and natural gas, including uranium. China currently occupies a large place in the mineral market. And so many countries like the United States want to compete in that place.
"Greenland has more ice than any other country in the world, more oil, gas or minerals," said Eric Rignot, a scientist at the University of California, Irvine. "If that ice were to melt, it would have a dramatic impact on coastlines around the world. It would also dramatically change weather patterns. If all the ice in Greenland melted, global sea levels would rise by 7.4 meters."
Mark Serge, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, USA, said that Greenland will be an important center in the 21st century. The melting of Greenland's ice will have an impact on sea level rise.
Greenland acts as an engine to increase the speed of the ocean current. This ocean current is known as the Greenland Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation or AMOC. The speed of this current is currently gradually decreasing due to the flow of water from Greenland's ice sheet into the ocean.
If the balance of this current is disturbed, climatologists fear that parts of Europe and North America may be covered in long-term ice. As a result, this will affect the agriculture of various countries and will cause a disaster in the ecosystem of the environment.