Melting Ice in Antarctica Leading to Human Devastation

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Melting Ice in Antarctica
Melting Ice in Antarctica

For those of us North of the equator, we might not often see the effects of global warming (snowing in April isn’t exactly helping). However, the planet is increasing in temperatures and that is causing devastating impacts on the ice sheets in Antarctica.

Warm Water Leading to Melting Ice:

Warm ocean water is literally melting Antarctica from below, leading the melting of ice sheets and creating high levels of sea water. A new study used data from satellites to determine how much underwater ice is melting. This knowledge is crucial in allowing researchers to determine where large floating ice shelves connect to a layer of bedrock underneath Antarctica.

The Bedrock:

NASA scientists discovered that there was something hot that was lurking beneath the surface of ice in Antarctica referred to as a “mantle plume”. This is an abnormally hot rock that sits deep beneath the surface.

Heat emanating from the rock causes the surface of the ice to melt and crack, creating devastating disruptions in rivers. Ice shelves are particularly vulnerable to collapsing as the seawater melts them from below the surface. Scientists discovered an area of underwater ice that is the size of Greater London. It has melted within a five-year period!

In West Antarctica alone, over one fifth of the entire ice sheet melted across the sea floor. This happened because of ice melting at its base.

How Rising Sea Levels Affect Humans:

As the climate continues to warm, rising sea levels can pose devastating threats to the human population via flooding. The destruction of farmland and residential and commercial properties are in constant threat. This creates a vicious cycle that creates not only environmental impacts, but financial and economic ones like the increase insurance claims and expenses. The number of people affected by sea level rises may reach into the hundreds of millions by the end of the century.

Currently, rises in sea levels are a result of thermal expansion due to temperature increases, and the melting of small ice glaciers. As global warming continues, larger ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland are expected to melt. The West Antarctic ice sheet alone has the capacity to raise global sea levels by over three metres.

The Antarctic Ice Sheet:

The Antarctic ice sheet is one of the two polar ice caps on earth. The ice sheet covers 98 per cent of the continent, and is the largest single mass of ice on the planet. Around 61 per cent of freshwater on Earth is held on the Antarctic ice sheet.

How Precipitation Creates Massive Ice Sheets:

Ice comes into the sheet through snow precipitation. The snow is then compacted and forms glacier ice which then moves under gravity towards the coast. The majority of this ice is carried to the coast through fast-moving ice streams. The ice passes into the ocean and forms ice shelves.

 

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About Author

Nadia Zaidi is a freelance multimedia journalist whose work is featured in several print and digital publications. She previously developed and hosted a show on youth issues for community television, and produces short-documentaries for public outreach. She holds a bachelor's degree in Journalism from Ryerson University.

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