The Times Atlas and actual Greenland ice loss

In September 2011 two Greenland stories hit the press, by far the bigger of which was the widespread misreporting (and consequent backlash) that Greenland had apparently lost 15 per cent of its ice cover since 1999. The public are used to an annual press bombardment of record temperatures, ever increasing melt and ice retreat in polar regions but a 15 per cent loss in 12 years does seem fanciful.