Note that were are talking about some degree of melting occurring over 97% of the surface of the ice sheet, not that 97% of the area previously covered in ice has melted, which is how I read the title.
From the article: "Nearly the entire ice cover of Greenland, from its thin, low-lying coastal edges to its 2-mile-thick (3.2-kilometer) center, experienced some degree of melting at its surface"
From the article: "Nearly the entire ice cover of Greenland, from its thin, low-lying coastal edges to its 2-mile-thick (3.2-kilometer) center, experienced some degree of melting at its surface"
edit: poor grammar