The study, published earlier this week in the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences, suggested that the largest sustained acceleration in ice loss from early 2003 to mid-2013 occurred in southwest Greenland, a region about which scientists were not concerned before.
Based on data collected by Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (Grace) satellites in 2003-2013, the study found a four-fold increase in mass being lost from Greenland's ice sheet.
Grace, consisted of two Earth-orbiting satellites, was launched in March 2002. It is a jointed mission between NASA and the German Aerospace Center.
"Continued atmospheric warming will lead to southwest Greenland becoming a major contributor to sea level rise," the study said.
According to the study, the decadal acceleration in mass loss in south-west Greenland arose due to the combination of sustained global warming and positive fluctuations in temperature.