Her stint as Manager of the California State Mining and Mineral Museum in California's gold country served to deepen her interest in science which she now fulfills by writing for online science websites. Now, the phenomenon is getting worse and the temperature of the hearth’s surface is growing. In essence, the melting of the polar ice caps will accelerate global warming, which will, in turn, cause more rapid melting. The thickness of the Arctic Ice has decreased by 40% since the 1960s. Without effective programs in place to regulate, reduce and eliminate greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone – oceans across the globe may change more than just sea level. Tribal leaders also point to the last few decades where increased ice melt and global weather changes no longer allow them to accurately predict weather by using clouds, winds and ocean currents. The people that live near the coastal areas are in the most danger. Effects of Melting Ice Glaciers Global Warming. The effects of global warming in the Arctic, or climate change in the Arctic include rising air and water temperatures, loss of sea ice, and melting of the Greenland ice sheet with a related cold temperature anomaly, observed since the 1970s. Therefore, when the overall temperature of the water increases, it naturally makes the oceans rise. The melt then began at low altitudes, and in recent years has spread to the whole ice sheet. Images of emaciated polar bears floating on small ice blocks in the arctic sea represent some of the more radical effects polar ice melt has on wildlife. As a journalist and editor for several years, Laurie Brenner has covered many topics in her writings, but science is one of her first loves. With the polar ice caps melting the ecosystems will be greatly affected. The polar ice caps that we see today have taken centuries to form and they ve been melting from time to time in order to form lakes and rivers that are essential not only for animal and plant life, but for humans as well all over the world. For the people who live near the coastline of the Arctic there is the possibility of being flooded. The high-altitude tops of the ice caps change storm tracks and create cold downward winds that travel along the ice surface. Rising sea levels would lead to migration from low-lying areas of the planet to areas higher above sea level, which would result in more competition for food and resources in those areas. This is a big concern for the population of the planet. Their bodies are designed by nature and evolution to be suitable for the Arctic weather. Greenland’s melting ice sheet will add another 20 feet to sea level rise. It is also possible that with warmer temperature the weather will be more intense. Ice shelves are massive, floating platforms of ice that surround the ice-covered continents of Antarctica and Greenland. Ice caps also do their part in reflecting the sun’s rays, which keep the Earth cooler (see albedo). The cryosphere is the part of the Earth system comprised of frozen water: ice sheets and glaciers, snow, permafrost and sea ice. According to NASA, the polar ice caps are melting at an alarming rate of 9% per decade. Another of the effects of polar ice caps melting is the general warming of the planet. Copyright 2020 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Media, All Rights Reserved. Temperatures across the globe have gone upward, helping the cause of ice glaciers melting faster than required. When most people think of ice melting at the North and South poles, they automatically think of sea levels rising. Some believe that this melting will cause the next ice age. One well-known current that would be affected by this is the Gulf Stream. In other words, the same amount of water occupies more space. Average temperatures in the Arctic are rising twice as fast as they are … The water’s density decreases above and below this temperature. Without a decent reflective shield and solid heat absorption mechanism, the troposphere will further rise in temperature. This could happen, but no one knows when it might happen. The only way to stop this vicious cycle is for all governments around the world to adhere to regulations that reduce and finally eliminate the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Impacts will be global. This affects ocean currents that normally move the warm water at the equator back to the arctic in a heat-and-salt-water process called t__hermohaline circulation. Even small temperature changes in the Arctic can drastically effect weather all over the world. More Polar Ice Caps Facts As more heat is absorbed by the oceans, it creates a “positive feedback loop” that essentially changes the atmosphere’s and ocean’s circulation. The climate is not so hot because the sunlight that strikes the ice caps is reflected back to space. Related impacts include ocean circulation changes, increased input of freshwater, and ocean acidification. Most people may not know that icebergs in Arctic waters have little to do with rising seas because the ice floats in the water, already displacing it with its size. Examples of these animals are the seals and the polar bears. How do melting sea ice and glaciers affect weather patterns? The completion of the cycle occurs when the colder water at depth begins to move south and then rises again at the equator as it warms. The polar ice caps may be melting at a startling rate yet does not have to go on forever. This is because they are made up of fallen snow that over many decades compresses down into larger, denser masses of ice. Brenner is also a published sci-fi author. As it thaws, these greenhouse gases get released back into the atmosphere, and add to the global warming cycle. The main ice covered landmass is Antarctica at the South Pole, with about 90 percent of the world's ice (and 70 percent of its fresh water). The polar regions are particularly vulnerable to a warming atmosphere. Interior officials were scheduled to make their decision on polar bears on Jan. 9, but postponed it for a month, citing the complexity of the situation. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). The global temperature is also affected by the polar ice caps melting. The issue of polar ice caps melting is becoming a major issue. How fast polar ice disappears depends upon the world’s effectiveness at reducing pollution. Until the 1980s, the Greenland ice sheet did not experience extensive summer melt. A recent report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that by the time a person born in 2017 reaches 33, sea levels could rise as much as 2 to 4 1/2 feet, doubling by 2100. After the Larsen B Antarctic ice shelf broke up in … When they melt, sea level isn't directly affected because this ice is already in the ocean. Los Angeles and San Diego would be underwater, along with Seattle, parts of Portland, Oregon and British Columbia in Canada. This instability will continue to mean higher prices for you and growing crises for the world’s most vulnerable. Which are the causes of the melting of the glaciers?First of all, it is important to know that the causes are not natural. As the ice melts, their means to support themselves decrease. Today, the Arctic is warming twice as fast as anywhere on earth, and the sea ice there is declining by more than 10% every 10 years. Scientists posit that the bubonic plague and smallpox are also buried in Siberia’s frozen ground. 5.1.5 Ice algae grow at the porous bottom of sea ice and form the base of the unique marine food web connected to sea ice. Anthrax erupted in a small corner of Siberia in August 2016, caused by melting permafrost scientists and doctors theorize. Sea levels are predicted to drastically rise. With a climate that continues heating up – and coastal erosion – these numbers could radically increase. Ice glaciers are able to deflect almost 80% heat of the sun, absorbing approximately 20% heat. She graduated from San Diego's Coleman College in 1972. Melting Polar Ice Caps The melting of the polar ice caps is caused by the overall increase in global temperature, and this melting can have serious consequences for all organisms on Earth… By nature the polar ice caps have the role of regulating the temperature of the Earth. When glaciers melt in the ocean, the freshwater tends to stay on top because salt water is heavier. The ice loss from Greenland and Antarctica is … As the climate warms, the inevitable response of the cryosphere is enhanced melting. We've seen some effects of this in recent months alone, as large storms have breezed across major cities worldwide, leaving destruction in their wake. The hills of San Francisco would become a series of islands, with an inland sea forming in California’s Central Valley. But polar bears aren’t the only ones affected. More than 2,000 reindeer became infected and dozens of people hospitalized after a 75-year old reindeer corpse melted and released the spores across the Yamal Peninsula. According to National Geographic's projections of a 216-feet increase in sea level, the entire Eastern seaboard, the Gulf Coast and Florida would disappear. Another effect of polar ice caps melting is that temperature of the water is also increasing. On J… They will not only affect the ecosystem but they will also affect the climate, the ozone layer, the sea level andmuch more. The melting of polar ice caps I believe is another severe effect of global warming. The melting of the glaciers is due to men’s behavior.We have seen the first effect starting from the XX century. While the Dennis Quaid movie, “The Day After Tomorrow” referenced this scenario, scientists feel it unlikely that rapid changes that result in a new ice age are unlikely, as the oceans don’t move heat and cold as quickly as the atmosphere does. It is also possible that with warmer temperature the weather will be more intense. Because they mostly live in the coastal regions near the arctic, they depend on sea ice as a means for transportation and hunting. As the ice melts, the arctic sea levels, and thus the other oceans, stay the same, but the weather changes. The melting of ice can affect the availability of physical habitats for algae, as well as the temperature and salinity of surface waters, potentially disrupting the whole food web. The real threat in sea level increases come from the Greenland and the Antarctic ice sheets, which contain close to 99 percent of all the world’s fresh water. The NASA has stated that until 1933 the rise of global sea levels was only at 1.7 millimeters per year. In certain places across the world, small ice glaciers have vanished, exposing the Earth below. Global effects. Arctic ice melt 'already affecting weather patterns where you live right now' The warming Arctic Climate change This article is more than 3 years old. Some of the effects of polar ice caps melting include rising sea levels. This not only affects coastal communities around the world, covering London and other low-lying areas, but it damages global economies as well, requiring citizen evacuations and relocation of major shipping ports and businesses. In areas where the ground has stayed frozen for centuries, as in Alaska and Siberia, melting permafrost is also suspected as the cause of new outbreaks of diseases. Changes in the Gulf Stream affects North America and Europe, and could lead to cooler weather over time and radical changes in some weather patterns in just weeks. This is because the researches have shown that the rate of the melting of the ice caps is going on at an alarming rate. The salt content of ocean water, including arctic waters, changes when polar ice melts, because it doesn’t contain any salt. In July 2012, for example, 97 percent of the Greenland ice cap experienced surface melting… If humans don’t stop adding to global warming, in a mere hundred years, the world as it is now known won’t be the same at all. After 2050, how fast sea levels rise depend on multiple factors. The salt content of ocean water, including arctic waters, changes when polar ice melts, because it doesn’t contain any salt. But starting 1993 the rate has drastically increased to 3.33 millimeters per year. Getting Fresh: Will a Warming Climate Disrupt the Gulf Stream and Other Essential Ocean Currents? Polar vortexes, increased heat waves, and unpredictability of weather caused by ice loss are already causing significant damage to crops on which global food systems depend. The effects of the polar ice caps melting are not to be belittled because they could affect the whole world. Melting sea ice is also likely to have global consequences by unlocking new shipping routes and exposing more fossil fuel reserves. The FWS began an initial review of the petition in February 2006 and received more than 500,000 public comments—both supporting and opposing. If the rising temperature affects glaciers and icebergs, could the polar ice caps be in danger of melting and causing the oceans to rise? But it is clear that although Arctic sea ice only covers a small fraction of the Earth’s surface, there may well be serious climate-related impacts too. The long legal process to be considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act began in 2005, when the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) filed a petition with the U.S. The same goes for the migratory animals that go to the Arctic; they will also be affected by the polar ice caps melting. But the melting of the ice sheets – and lower ice extents during the winter months – means much more than just additional water in the oceans, as the lack of ice at the poles also changes the ocean’s water currents, the jet streams and how weather forms across the planet. The National Snow and Ice Data Center says that the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets influence both day-to-day weather and long-term climate. An environmental analyst claims that satellite data collected by NASA revealed polar ice caps have not melted due to global warming. Inuits in the Northern Hemisphere are experiencing reduced hunting seasons because of increased early spring ice melts. The latest … Citizens should be eager to live a more Eco friendly lifestyle. And it doesn’t stop with the climate. As more heat is absorbed by the oceans, it creates a “positive feedback loop” that essentially changes the atmosphere’s and ocean’s circulation. But with the ice caps melting it would be hard for them to live. Sea level rise is a natural consequence of the warming of our planet. According to scientists at the U.S Center for Atmospheric Research, if the current rate of global temperature rise continues, the Arctic will be free of Ice … You are currently reading "The Effects of Polar Ice Caps Melting", Category: Global warming,Polar Ice Cap Melting, Tags: global warming, ice caps, Polar Ice Caps, Polar Ice Caps Melting, Arctic Sea Ice Has Melted To New Record Levels, Polar Ice Caps Melting May Change the Map of the World. Melting Of The Polar Ice Caps The polar ice caps are melting faster over the last half century moreover than the last five centuries. This visualization shows the expanse of the annual minimum Arctic sea ice for each year from 1979 through 2020, with a graph overlay. It is be up to the people to being to make a change. The polar ice caps have the ability to reflect the sunlight back into space and this ensures that the climate of … Glaciers are typically located in polar regions and at high elevations in mountains like the Himalayas where the climate is cool and conducive to the conditions required to form them. But scientists have learned that floating ice shelves act as dams to glaciers, which are flowing rivers of ice. Every summer, the Arctic ice cap melts to what scientists call its "minimum" before colder weather begins to cause ice cover to increase. The polar ice caps are melting six times faster than in the 1990s, according to the most complete analysis to date. Arctic sea ice helps to regulate the climate by keeping it cool. Lands within the arctic circle’s also trapped methane and other gases when the ground froze. Another effect of the polar ice caps melting is the rise of the sea levels. The infrastructures in the region may literally fall down since the ground will thaw out. Polar Ice Caps Cause And Effects 1358 Words | 6 Pages. When the Antarctic melts, climate experts state that sea levels can rise to 200 feet and more. The sea is estimated to rise 230 feet! If the ice caps melt then the oceans and the land will absorb the heat of the sunlight making the temperature of the world warmer. By decreasing our use of fossil fuels and minimizing are carbon footprint people may slow down the effects. For example, the climate of the whole Earth could be adversely affected. A colossal chunk of Greenland’s ice cap has broken off in the far northeastern Arctic, which scientists believe is further confirmation of rapid climate change. NOAA: Global and Regional Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the United States, National Public Radio: Anthrax Outbreak in Russia Thought to be Result of Thawing Permafrost, Yale Environment: The Global Impacts of Rapidly Disappearing Artic Sea Ice, Columbia University: How the Warming Artic Affects Us All, National Geographic: What the World Would Look Like if All the Ice Melted. Within the next five to seven years, the ice caps could be completely melted. How will melting ice respond to, and feedback on, the climate response to increasing greenhouse gases, and what will the impacts be? If the ice caps melt then the oceans and the land will absorb the heat of the sunlight making the temperature of the world warmer. Another effect of the polar ice caps melting is the rise of the sea levels. So all together, the melting of polar ice caps effects would include sea levels rising 220 feet or more worldwide. 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