Since the mid-’90s, scientists have discovered the Greenland ice sheet has gotten increasingly dark.

The satellites are able to quantify the “albedo” of the Greenland ice sheet; basically just how much sun is reflected back towards space. The method isn’t viewable using the human eye, but the amount of albedo is detectable through satellite devices. This information was gathered and assessed in the study.

So just what is happening?

The research suggested that soot from wildfires mostly from North America is getting into the ice. Using the Global Fire Emissions Database, they discovered there is no rise in the variety of wildfires in the mid-nineties, indicating another offender was at play.

They discovered that temperatures were increasing.

The snowpack of the sheet has a continuous procedure for thawing and refreezing throughout the seasons. But, the warmer and more brilliant summers are creating a larger thaw in the ice. The grains of ice get bigger and bigger.

The real problem with this particular darkening is that the more exposed it is to melting, the dimmer it becomes.

It is a complicated system of interaction involving the atmosphere as well as the ice sheet surface. As heating goes on, the feedback from decreasing albedo will accumulate. It is a train running down, as well as the hill is getting steeper.