Group Question :: .::SAVE OUR EARTH::.
Why would the Polar regions be the first areas to indicate global warming?
mikestice April 21, 2009 06:13:33
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North Pole ice may completely melt away this summer
For the first time in modern history, the North Pole may be iceless this summer. Scientists say it's an even bet that sea ice in the region will completely disappear in the next few months, perhaps as soon as August.
Ice at the North Pole quickly and significantly melted away last year, and that may be causing further melting this summer. Scientists say the disappearance of long-term and thicker ice formed over the years has disappeared. Now, most of the ice that's left is seasonal ice, which melts away much more quickly during warm weather.
"This year there is a lot of young ice. There's always some, but this year there's a lot," Andy Mahoney, a researcher at the University of Colorado's National Snow and Ice Data Center, told CTV.ca.
Satellite observations indicate the ice remaining at the poles is melting faster than last year's rate, which was already a record year for Arctic ice loss. Scientists say whether or not the ice melts completely, this year's northern melt is yet another example of the impact that global warming is having on the planet's environment.
"There were some people who were saying last year was a rogue year. If the same thing happens again a lot more people are going to be persuaded about the consequences of global warming," Mahoney said.
"A lot of people think it's a very small change in temperature. This shows that the change in sea ice is quite a dramatic consequence."
As the ice melts, interest in the region is intensifying. Canada and other nations that border the Arctic -- including Russia and the U.S. -- are scrambling to lay claims to vast parts of the area, which may someday allow new resource development and shipping lanes.
"If the North Pole melts, then you don't have to worry about the Northwest Passage. It will still be significant, but going on top of the globe would be politically easier," Mahoney said.
A UN panel is supposed to decide on control of the Arctic by 2020. Last year, Canada's Conservative government announced plans to acquire up to eight Arctic patrol ships and to build an army base in Resolute Bay and a naval station in Nanisivik.
Under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Arctic countries have 10 years after ratification to prove their claims under the largely uncharted polar ice pack. All countries with claims to the Arctic have ratified the treaty, with the exception of the United States.
For the first time in modern history, the North Pole may be iceless this summer. Scientists say it's an even bet that sea ice in the region will completely disappear in the next few months, perhaps as soon as August.
Ice at the North Pole quickly and significantly melted away last year, and that may be causing further melting this summer. Scientists say the disappearance of long-term and thicker ice formed over the years has disappeared. Now, most of the ice that's left is seasonal ice, which melts away much more quickly during warm weather.
"This year there is a lot of young ice. There's always some, but this year there's a lot," Andy Mahoney, a researcher at the University of Colorado's National Snow and Ice Data Center, told CTV.ca.
Satellite observations indicate the ice remaining at the poles is melting faster than last year's rate, which was already a record year for Arctic ice loss. Scientists say whether or not the ice melts completely, this year's northern melt is yet another example of the impact that global warming is having on the planet's environment.
"There were some people who were saying last year was a rogue year. If the same thing happens again a lot more people are going to be persuaded about the consequences of global warming," Mahoney said.
"A lot of people think it's a very small change in temperature. This shows that the change in sea ice is quite a dramatic consequence."
As the ice melts, interest in the region is intensifying. Canada and other nations that border the Arctic -- including Russia and the U.S. -- are scrambling to lay claims to vast parts of the area, which may someday allow new resource development and shipping lanes.
"If the North Pole melts, then you don't have to worry about the Northwest Passage. It will still be significant, but going on top of the globe would be politically easier," Mahoney said.
A UN panel is supposed to decide on control of the Arctic by 2020. Last year, Canada's Conservative government announced plans to acquire up to eight Arctic patrol ships and to build an army base in Resolute Bay and a naval station in Nanisivik.
Under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Arctic countries have 10 years after ratification to prove their claims under the largely uncharted polar ice pack. All countries with claims to the Arctic have ratified the treaty, with the exception of the United States.
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Satellite observations indicate the ice remaining at the poles is melting faster than last year's rate...
33%
1 vote |
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People were saying last year was a rogue year...
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0 votes |
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This year there is a lot of young ice...
0%
0 votes |
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Undecided
33%
1 vote | |
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None of the above
33%
1 vote |
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Top Comment
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Satellite observations indicate the ice remaining at the poles is melting faster than last year's rate...
I thought it has to do with ocean currents and/or albedo (a feedback) which makes polar temperatures respond more aggressively to the effects of global warming.View thread
SodaHead Hot Trends
Satellite observations indicate the ice remaining at the poles is melting faster than last year's rate...
The Sensitive Poles
In its 1990 science report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) noted that global warming is expected to warm the poles faster than the tropics [2]. This is partly because warming causes loss of sea-ice, which reduces albedo (reflection) and also allows more heat transfer from the ocean surface, accelerating the warming (a 'positive feedback'). The warming at the poles is also larger because it is confined near the surface, and because heat is released from the extra moisture transported from the tropics. In 1993, British scientists suggested that the polar regions would be among the first to respond to global warming and that the warming-induced changes might accelerate the warming further [3].
The IPCC also noted that the capacity of the Southern Ocean to absorb large amounts of heat may counter this accelerated warming, resulting in a smaller warming trend nearer the global average [4]. Recent research however, comparing ocean model results with the observed ocean circulation patterns around Antarctica, suggests that the heat-absorbing ability of the Southern Ocean may have been overestimated [5]. This suggests that the extremes of warming projected for the Arctic region may also be felt in the south....
The Sensitive Poles
In its 1990 science report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) noted that global warming is expected to warm the poles faster than the tropics [2]. This is partly because warming causes loss of sea-ice, which reduces albedo (reflection) and also allows more heat transfer from the ocean surface, accelerating the warming (a 'positive feedback'). The warming at the poles is also larger because it is confined near the surface, and because heat is released from the extra moisture transported from the tropics. In 1993, British scientists suggested that the polar regions would be among the first to respond to global warming and that the warming-induced changes might accelerate the warming further [3].
The IPCC also noted that the capacity of the Southern Ocean to absorb large amounts of heat may counter this accelerated warming, resulting in a smaller warming trend nearer the global average [4]. Recent research however, comparing ocean model results with the observed ocean circulation patterns around Antarctica, suggests that the heat-absorbing ability of the Southern Ocean may have been overestimated [5]. This suggests that the extremes of warming projected for the Arctic region may also be felt in the south. Furthermore, any heat that is carried to depth away from the sea surface may reduce surface temperature rise at the expense of increased basal melting of the West Antarctic ice sheet [6], with serious implications for sea level rise.
Loss of sea-ice may also cause changes in the circulation of the Southern Ocean, leading to global warming positive feedbacks. When sea-ice forms in the austral Autumn and Winter, salt is rejected from the freezing waters, increasing the salinity and therefore density of the surface ocean. This cold and saline water then mixes downwards, carrying carbon dioxide and heat into the deep ocean. The loss of sea-ice in a global warming world may reduce this deep mixing by limiting salt rejection, thus producing a positive feedback, increasing the rate of carbon dioxide build-up in the atmosphere and the rate at which the surface ocean warms [7].
Undecided
None of the above