For this week blog I will be discussing an article from nytimes.com titled, “In Sign of Warming, 1,600 Years of Ice in Andes melted in 25 years” by Justin Gillis. The article is about the world’s largest tropical ice sheet; the Quelccaya ice cap of Peru and the rate in which ice is melting, in addition to what is being revealed. Lonnie G Thompson, the Ohio State University glaciologist, along with her team has been studying the Quelccaya ice caps for more than 10 years.
Plants that were trapped under ice for thousands of years are now being exposed due to the rapid melting of the Quelccaya cap. These plants were dated by a radioactive form of carbon in plant tissue that decays at a known rate; giving scientist a new precise method of determining the history of the ice sheet’s margins. Several years ago, Dr. Thompson and her team found plants that were about 4700 years old. Now with an additional thousand feet of melting, Dr. Thompson and her team are now finding plants that are 6300 years old. If we subtract the age of the new plants from the age of the older found plants we see a difference of 1600 years.
Although finding plant species that were thought to be long gone is very exciting, the rate at which the caps are melting is very concerning. Mathias Vuille, a climate scientist at the State University at Albany in New York said, “the ice may not go quick because it is so much ice, but we may have already locked ourselves into a situation where we are committed to losing that ice”
After reading this article I cannot help but wonder what this means for the people of this region. According to the article 50% of the water supply to the people of Lima will be gone if the Quelccaya caps completely melt. I cannot help but wonder why don’t we have technology that would stop the ice from melting?
“In Sign of Warming, 1,600 Years of Ice in Andes melted in 25 years” by Justin Gillis. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/05/world/americas/1600-years-of-ice-in-perus-andes-melted-in-25-years-scientists-say.html
Tags: environment blog, psych424
That is incredible to think about plants that old. To be able to study something that was once unattainable is remarkable. However, you are correct. The reason behind this great exposure is a concerning one. Most individuals do not like to talk about global warming because it still seems like a taboo subject.
I think it is interesting that scientists calculate the eight degree rise that is foreseen in our future can have detrimental effects for everything on earth (Denchak, 2017). These slightly increasing temperatures mixed with other issues we have going on in the environment is causing the changes in the climate system. As with the land, ocean, and atmospheres, the ice is also affected.
I did not know that Beryllium-10 is a radioactive isotope in the glacial sediment of the ice that is most often used to date rocks at earths surface, but can also be used to determine the amounts of advance or retreat of glacial ice (Peru’s Quelccaya Ice Cap Is Melting, Thanks To Climate Change”, 2017).
I admit, I am guilty that I did not know where the Quelccaya cap was located. It looks like such a beautiful place in Peru. In 2006, a study had shown that it had lost more than 20% of it’s area since 1978 and was not showing any signs of ceasing (Peru’s Quelccaya Ice Cap Is Melting, Thanks To Climate Change”, 2017).
I think we have so many issues within our environment that we can make steps toward correcting. I don’t think we will ever be able to fully eliminate environmental issues, but I think it is something that needs to be addressed and fixed before it is too late.
I think you chose a good topic to blog about! Thanks for the read!
References:
Denchak, M. (2017). Are the effects of global warming really that bad?. Retrieved from https://www.nrdc.org/stories/are-effects-global-warming-really-bad
Peru’s Quelccaya ice cap is melting, thanks to climate change. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/02/quelccaya-ice-cap_n_4876827.html
I enjoyed reading your blog post. I wish more could be done on climate change. This news is scary to think that 1600 years of ice could melt in so little time. Technology has expanded over the years and there should be something that could have been done to prevent this from happening. I think the problem is that there a large amount of individuals who either don’t believe in global warming or don’t care for global warming. There is so much attention brought to it areas that didn’t get much snow are now getting blizzards and areas that are used to getting snow appear to have less snow and warmer weather during the winter season. Other places such as Alaska are having receding glaciers and I feel terrible for the animals who are losing their homes and natural habitats.