The high latitude arctic regions receive less energy in the form of solar radiation or sunlight compared to other parts of the world. This results in large areas of seawater in this region freezing to form pack ice. Every summer, when the sun's energy falls on the earth in a higher intensity compared to other times of the year, some of the arctic ice melts and flows into the world's oceans. This arctic ice and its annual summer melt assume significance as it has a substantial impact on the climate and ecology of the earth. For this reason, satellites have been tracking this phenomenon since 1978.Scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) observe that since 2002 CE, the summertime melting of arctic ice started earlier than usual, and the quantity of ice loss has increased at an alarming pace. Since 2002 CE, nearly 502,000 square miles of arctic ice has melted and flown into the oceans of the world and the average amount of ice left in the arctic region between 2002 and 2008 is twenty percent less than the average amount between 1978 and 2002. The minimum extent of sea ice in the arctic fell by more than a million square kilometers in 2007, the biggest decline ever.
[...] CONSEQUENCES OF ARCTIC ICE LOSS It has been established by scientists that the increased melting of arctic ice at a rate faster than it gets replenished, leading to its loss leads to widespread ecological and environmental damages. Impact on local environment The most apparent consequence of arctic ice loss is the rise in sea level. The melting of floating glaciers do not affect sea level for their weight also goes into the sea level. However, when arctic ice that is present over land melts, the water flows into the world's oceans and leads to increased amount of water on these oceans, causing the sea level to rise, which in turn leads to inundation of costal and low-lying areas. [...]
[...] Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 2007-02-05. http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4-wg1-chapter1.pdf. Retrieved on 2009-03-26. Hanna,H., P.Huybrechts, I. Janssens, J . Cappelen, K. Steffen, and A. Stephens, Runoff and mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet: 1958–2003, J. Geophys. Res D13108, doi: 10.1029 /2004JD http://cires.colorado.edu/science/groups/steffen/greenland/melt2005/ Joshi, Mohit (2008-04-22). Arctic ice more vulnerable to summer sunshine, http://www.topnews.in/arctic-ice-more-vulnerable-summer-sunshine-237312 NOAA Paleoclimatology Global Warming - The Data, http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/globalwarming/gw-forcing.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-27. NSIDC Arctic Sea Ice News Fall 2007, http://nsidc.org/news/press/2007_seaiceminimum/20070810_index.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-27. National Snow [...]
[...] Role of Carbon dioxide The burning of fossil fuels results in emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and this accounts for a major portion of the increased presence of greenhouse gasses because of human activities. Almost 40 percent of such carbon dioxide emissions are from power plants percent come from the burning of gasoline in internal-combustion engines of automobiles percent come from activities related to construction of buildings, and another 3.5 percent come from the operation of aircrafts. Forest plants and soils sequester carbon dioxide through photosynthesis. [...]
[...] Permafrost and the Vicious Cycle Arctic ice regulates and temper climate in many parts of the world. Ice absorbs 20% of the sunlight and reflects back whereas water absorbs 80% of the heat and reflects back 20%. The huge sheets of arctic ice thus reflect solar radiation, keeping the planet cool. When this ice melts, the huge expanses of water that forms in its place absorb 80% of the heat instead of reflecting it. This further warms the planet up and raises temperatures, creating a vicious cycle of heat. [...]
[...] Arctic polar bears are already starving, drowning, and even resorting to cannibalism because they do not have access to their usual food sources when the ice melts. The U.S. Department of Interior has already listed the polar bear as a "threatened" species under the Endangered Species Act. The change in traditional habits of the polar animals makes it difficult for the natives to hunt them, thus affecting the natural lifestyle of the people in the region.Ice shelves support unique ecosystems, many of which have gone unstudied, and the melting of the polar ice leads to their destruction. [...]
APA Style reference
For your bibliographyOnline reading
with our online readerContent validated
by our reading committee
