WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Greenland has gone through an "unprecedented" period of mass ice loss within the last two decades, according to a latest study.

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.