Why it matters: The study shows that human-caused global warming due to greenhouse gas emissions has effectively locked in some sea-level rise from the melting of the Greenland ice sheet.

Already with the sea level rise seen so far, coastal flooding is much more common in cities like Miami and Charleston, and future storms are expected to be more destructive.

By the numbers: The researchers estimated that the ice sheet will lose about 3.3% of its total volume within this century, which equates to 110 trillion metric tons of ice and an average global sea level rise of at least 270 millimeters, or 10.6 inches.

For comparison, that amount of ice loss could cover the entire US with 37 feet of water, the study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, found.

Our thought bubble, via Axios’ Andrew Freedman: This study is important because it’s based on observations over two decades of studying Greenland, not just computer modeling.

In addition, the findings show how difficult it is to put the brakes on melting ice even if emissions were to stop completely now.

What they say: Jason Box, the study’s lead author and a professor at the National Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), said the study actually presents low estimates for the future of the Greenland Ice Sheet, as the world will not stop to burn fossil fuels.

“It’s a very conservative minimum. Realistically, we’ll see that rate more than double within this century,” Box said in a statement on Monday. “In the foreseeable scenario that global warming will only continue, the contribution of the Greenland ice sheet to sea level rise will continue to increase,” he added. “When we take the extreme melt year of 2012 and take it as a hypothetical average stable climate later this century, the locked-in mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet more than doubles to 78 cm,” or more than 30 inches by 2100.

Yes, but: The study also only estimated average sea-level rise due to melting ice from the Greenland Ice Sheet, and didn’t consider how melting from Antarctica or other glaciers around the world might also contribute. Go deeper: Arctic warming four times faster than rest of globe, new study says