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After writing about the narwhals in my last post, I became very interested in the impact of sea ice and glaciers in the Arctic Oceans. It is clear that as the years progress, global warming continues to increase and cause a variety of issues across the world. One of which is causing sea ice to melt at rapid rates. Though it is not mentioned often, sea ice plays a very important role in the environment and the cooling of our Earth. The large masses of white ice and glaciers that float around in the Arctic reflect excess heat from the sun back into space, keeping the planet cool and basically acting as a large, protective covering. The World Wildlife Fund states that “Today, about 10% of land area on Earth is covered with glacial ice. Almost 90% is in Antarctica, while the remaining 10% is in the Greenland ice cap”. Scientists have been studying the glaciers within these areas, which range from a few hundred to several thousand years old, to analyze the impact of global warming and track the rate at which the glaciers are melting.
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It is important to recognize the difference between sea ice and glaciers, since they do not affect the environment in the same ways once they melt. Sea ice is formed and found only in the ocean whereas glaciers form on land. When the glaciers begin to melt, they have a large amount of water stored in them which leads to a drastic increase in sea levels. When our sea levels begin to rise, coastal erosion increases and can even cause more intense and frequent coastal storms, such as hurricanes. In comparison, when sea ice melts, this decreases the amount of ice that Arctic marine life can use as protection, a way to obtain food, and shelter. As stated in my previous post, species such as the narwhals use this ice to protect themselves from predators, and other animals such as walruses and polar bears spend a large amount of their time living on the ice. Many sources state that in areas such as Greenland, the rate of ice melting is at the point of no return and that approximately 280 billion metric tons of ice are melting into the ocean surrounding Greenland per year.
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We must fight to protect our world, reduce our carbon footprint as best as possible, and gain support in the efforts to slow the rate of climate change and global warming. This issue not only affects the oceans and marine life, it affects weather patterns throughout the Earth, fishing industries, and much more. It is frightening to think about the future of our Earth and the environment, though, it is a topic that must be discussed and taken very seriously.
Sources:
https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/why-are-glaciers-and-sea-ice-melting
https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/quickfacts/icesheets.html
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/14/weather/greenland-ice-sheet/index.html
Thinking about global warming is so heartbreaking for me. Things like glacial melting keeps me up at night.
I feel like this has been a concern that has been emphasized to me since I was a child. However, I do not exactly know what I can do to specifically help this issue (besides donate). I would love it if you made a post on methods of helping our environment from home!