Antarctic ice cover is far below any previously recorded winter levels, according to satellite data, contradicting the idea that the region is resilient to global warming, the BBC reported this Sunday.
“It’s so far removed from anything we’ve seen that it’s just mind-boggling,” Walter Meyer, an expert who monitors sea ice at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, told the British publication.
In line with this observation, polar experts warn that instability in Antarctica could have long-term consequences.
Antarctica’s vast expanse of ice regulates the planet’s temperature as the white surface reflects energy from the sun back into the atmosphere and also cools the water below and near it, explain scientists quoted by the BBC.
Without ice to cool the planet, Antarctica could turn from Earth’s refrigerator into a radiator, experts say.
The amount of ice floating on the surface of the Southern Ocean is now less than 17 million square kilometers – that’s 1.5 million square kilometers less sea ice than last September’s average and well below the record lows of the previous winter.
That decline equates to an ice-free area about five times the size of the British Isles, say experts, some of whom are not optimistic about a significant recovery in sea ice.
Scientists are still trying to identify all the factors that have led to this year’s loss of sea ice, but studying trends in Antarctica has historically been challenging.
In a year that has seen several global heat and ocean temperature records broken, some scientists insist that shrinking sea ice is a measure that policymakers and the public need to pay attention to.
“We’re seeing how much more vulnerable (the Antarctic Peninsula) is,” Robbie Mallett of the University of Manitoba, who studies the region, told the BBC.
He said he was already dealing with isolation, bitter cold and strong winds, and thin sea ice this year has made his team’s work even more difficult. “There is a risk that it will fall apart and go to sea with us,” he warned.
Sea ice forms in the continent’s winter (March to October) and then largely melts in the summer and is part of an interconnected system that also consists of icebergs, land ice and huge ice shelves.
Sea ice acts as a protective layer for the ice that covers land and prevents warming of the ocean, experts say.
Caroline Holmes of the British Antarctic Survey explained to the BBC that the effects of declining sea ice could become apparent as the season progresses into summer, when there is the potential for an “overwhelming ice melt feedback.”
As more sea ice disappears, dark areas of the ocean are exposed that absorb sunlight rather than reflect it, meaning thermal energy is added to the water, which in turn melts even more ice.
They note that this phenomenon could lead to even greater heating of the planet, disrupting Antarctica’s normal role as a regulator of global temperatures.
The most recent data shows that since the 1990s, the loss of land ice in Antarctica has contributed to sea level rise of 7.2 mm.
Scientists say even a small rise in sea levels could lead to dangerous storm surges that could destroy coastal communities and have potentially catastrophic consequences for millions of people around the world.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Sandra Hansen, a news website Author and Reporter for 24 News Reporters. I have over 7 years of experience in the journalism field, with an extensive background in politics and political science. My passion is to tell stories that are important to people around the globe and to engage readers with compelling content.