[ad_1]
Around the world, the rate of ice melt is accelerating with climate change, on land and in water, in the northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere.
Since 1994, satellite images have revealed that more than 28 trillion tonnes of ice have melted in Greenland and Antarctica, as well as in the Arctic and Southern Oceans.
Together the losses represent an ice sheet 100 meters thick about the size of the UK. Melt water from the Arctic sea ice and the Antarctic ice sheet accounts for half of this mass.
“The ice caps are now following the worst climate warming scenarios defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,” says Thomas Slater, who studies land and ice altimetry at the University of Leeds.
“Rising sea levels on this scale will have very serious impacts on coastal communities during this century.”
This is exactly what scientists have been warning us about for decades, and the reality is finally upon us with no signs of slowing down.
Over the 23-year study period, researchers found an almost 60% increase in the rate of global ice loss.
(Planetary visions / ESA / NASA)
Above: According to the European Space Agency (ESA), “a trillion tonnes of ice can be thought of as an ice cube measuring 10 x 10 x 10 kilometers. “In this illustration, this icicle, which ESA says is taller than Mount Everest, towers over New York City.
Last year, the floating ice cover in the Arctic Ocean hit its lowest level since 1979, when satellite recordings began, and Antarctica saw a melting event unlike anything experts had seen before.
The loss of the Earth’s ice is clearly accelerating and giving horrific results. As atmospheric temperatures continue to rise and ocean temperatures follow, melting sea ice and mountain glaciers around the world succumb to climate change.
Satellite observations reveal that glaciers are among the hardest hit by climate change, especially those in Greenland, Alaska and the southern Andes. Despite the fact that glaciers make up only 1% of the Earth’s total ice volume, researchers have found that they have contributed almost a quarter of all global ice loss.
Between 1994 and 2017, satellite observations reveal 6.1 trillion tonnes of ice melted from mountain glaciers, 3.8 trillion tonnes was lost in the Greenland ice sheet and 2.5 trillion tonnes disappeared from the Antarctic ice cap.
Overall, this represents 35 millimeters (1.4 inches) of sea level rise, and although the southern ice has proven more resilient, it is also starting to crumble.
Since 2012, the rate of ice loss in Antarctica has tripled compared to the previous two decades, and this is mainly due to widespread glacier melting and thinning of ice shelves.
Rising atmospheric temperatures also began to wreak havoc on the floating ice, causing the oldest and thickest plates to rupture. While this type of melt does not directly contribute to sea level rise, that does not mean that it is not a threat.
“One of the key roles of arctic sea ice is to reflect solar radiation back into space, which helps keep the arctic cool,” says Isobel Lawrence, who specializes in remote sensing of sea ice. at the University of Leeds.
“As sea ice shrinks, more solar energy is absorbed by the oceans and the atmosphere, causing the Arctic to warm faster than anywhere else on the planet. ice caps that raise the sea level.
For every centimeter of sea level rise, experts predict that one million people are at risk of displacement. Additionally, mountain glaciers are an essential source of fresh water for many local communities.
As data flows in, what scientists feared most is all the more likely.
If things continue in the same vein, some believe the Arctic may be virtually ice-free by 2035.
Other studies show that Greenland’s melting ice has already passed the point of no return.
In the south, more than half of the ice shelves that hold back the Antarctic ice sheet are on the verge of buckling.
Everywhere we look, the cryosphere faces disaster.
The study was published in The cryosphere.
[ad_2]
Source link