Melting area 1979–2008 and mass change 2003–2009 of the Greenland ice sheet

Note: The maps on the left show the area of the Greenland ice sheet with at least one day of surface melting in summer. The diagram on the left shows the cumulated melt area, which is defined as the annual total sum of every daily ice sheet melt area. For example, if a particular area is melting on 20 days in a given year, it is counted 20 times.