In our last article, we stated the obvious: glaciers are rapidly melting because of climate change (caused by fossil fuels like petroleum and coal), increasing global temperature melting the polar ice and glaciers allover the world. We also mentioned how this melting leads to sea-level rise and poses and poses a threat to human habitat all over the world. Lastly, we touched upon how glacial melting may relate to changes in weather phenomena.
Ice acts like a protective cover over cover over the Earth’s lands and oceans as the white areas of ice and snow reflect more than 80% of heat back into space, which helps keep the Earth cooler. The Arctic contains a thin layer of sea ice. Antarctica, however, is a continent covered by a thick layer of glacial ice which covers more than 8% of Earth’s land surface and constitutes more than 90% of ALL the glacial ice on Earth. To give you a reference, the continent of Africa covers approximately 20% of Earth’s land surface. The World Wildlife Fund, Inc. (“WWF”) estimates that the Arctic Sea is shrinking by 3% each decade, and at this pace, there may not be any ice left in the Arctic Sea as early as 2040 to 2050. As we also pointed out in our last article, even IF we drastically reduce carbon emissions in the coming decades, more than one-third of the world’s remaining glaciers will probably melt before 2100.
Melting glaciers add to rising sea levels, and the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets are the biggest contributors. Collectively, they cover about 10% of the land surface on Earth which is about one-half the size of the African continent. Today, the Greenland ice sheet is melting at a rate four times faster than it did in 2003 and is now contributing 20% of sea level rise. Since 1900, the average global sea level has risen by 6-7 inches, and today sea level is rising at a much faster rate. As we have already seen, sea level rise has impacted low-lying coastal areas, cities, and towns near the coast. There are many different projections on sea level rise if the average global temperature increases by two degrees Celsius by 2050. One estimate is that more than 570 cities, and 800million people will be adversely impacted by rising seas. Another terrifying estimate is that if carbon emissions continue rising, the rate at which the Greenland ice sheet is melting will double by 2100. If all Greenland’s ice melts, it would raise global sea levels by 20 feet. What is even more terrifying is this estimate does not include the much larger ice sheets of Antarctica. If all of Antarctica’s ice melted, some estimates indicate sea level would rise almost200 feet.
Melting glaciers and sea ice also affect weather and weather patterns. The Arctic Sea ice is melting more than 10% every 10 years, and the Arctic is warming twice as fast as anywhere on Earth. As the ice melts, those white areas that were reflecting excess heat back into space disappear and are replaced by darker patches of ocean which create warmer air temperatures that disrupt normal patterns of ocean circulation. The rapid melting of glaciers and ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica influence ocean currents. As a massive quantity of very cold glacial water merges with the warmer ocean water, it slows the ocean currents, changes the circulation in the Atlantic Ocean, and disrupts weather patterns all over the world including more destructive storms and hurricanes all around Earth.
Sources:
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/melting-of-glaciers/
https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/why-are-glaciers-and-sea-ice-melting
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2022/8/30/23327341/pakistan-flooding-monsoon-melting-glaciers-climate-change
