Melting Planet Melting

Global warming is a gradual increase in the average temperature of the earth's and its oceans and a change that is believed to permanently changing the earth’s climate.

As Earth’s surface temperature rises, the ocean also becomes hotter which results in an increase in sea level and decrease in Earth’s ice. “The oceans have absorbed much of this increased heat, with the top 700 meters of ocean showing warming of 0.302 degrees Fahrenheit since 1969” (“Climate Change: How Do We Know?”). Since greenhouse gases are trapping energy from the sun, the oceans absorb more heat which ultimately increases surface temperature. Oceans are able to absorb large amounts of heat energy because water has a greater heat capacity than air. As oceans become warmer, the frozen water on Earth melts at an accelerated pace. The thickness of Arctic Sea ice has dramatically declined throughout the last several decades. “Arctic sea ice

The problem is that the arctic melt has caused global warming and climate change. In the Arctic, the ice is melting and the air is warming. Unfortunately, the Arctic ocean is taking in a lot of sunlight which causes it to become even warmer. Ice and snow cover take up a smaller space and used to be only present for under a year, but now that number is even less. As this happens, permafrost warms. As the years go on, mountain glaciers, sea ice, and the Greenland ice sheet melt faster and faster. Throughout this century, the Arctic ocean will have a limited amount of ice or will have no ice at all. Climate change is to blame for the arctic melt.

Global Warming is the idea that greenhouse effects are warming the earth slowly over time. The greenhouse effect, according to Paul G. Hewitt, is the “warming caused by short-wavelength radiant energy from the Sun that easily enters the atmosphere and is absorbed by earth. This energy is then reradiated at longer wavelengths that cannot easily escape Earth’s atmosphere”. The greenhouse effect is not a bad thing because it allows the earth to say warm and not drop to negative temperatures but the pollution that humans have released into the air and get stuck in the atmosphere is the negative effect which why we call them greenhouse gases. Some greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide,

Recently, arctic sea ice has been melting due to global warming. In 1984, there was 1.86 square kilometers of “old sea ice” and now there is only 110,000 square kilometers of the “old sea ice.” usually, as the atmosphere gets warmer, the new ice melts faster but the old ice is not melted away completely. Now, the old ice is getting weaker and melting faster due to global warming/climate change. This is an issue because as the earth gets hotter, the old ice will no longer get thicker, which helped keep ice on the sea. If there is no old ice, there is a chance that there will be no sea ice at all.

Warming seas and melting ice are the consequences of global warming which is the heating of Earth caused by greenhouse gasses trapped in Earth’s atmosphere. Global warming causes the heating of Earth’s seas, and when the water molecules in these bodies increase in temperature, they thermally expand which causes the sea to rise. The heat is also causing the melting of Earth’s ice sheets, and when the ice turns to water, it causes the sea to rise as well. Note that the water does not rise evenly. The sea level may increase in some areas as it may decrease in other areas. Sea level rise is inevitable because of the greenhouse gasses that are trapped in the atmosphere, they will always increase sea level to some degree. However, the decisions we

Artic ice melts each summer and refreezes each winter, this a natural thaw – freeze cycle, but in recent years this cycle has been greatly affected by global warming. Summer ice has been melting much more rapidly, which affects the average thickness of the ice. This also changes the ocean’s albedo drastically. It no longer reflects the sun’s energy, but rather absorbs it due to its dark, open waters. This is the beginning of a very destructive cycle: the loss of ice leads to the warming of the ocean which in turn leads to more ice loss. The thinning and eventual loss of ice can have major effects on regional temperatures. This can cause shoreline erosion which would force thousands of locals to relocate to higher ground. It would also cause great damage to natural resources and habitats.

Everyday these ice sheets are decreasing in mass. Greenland lost 150 to 250 cubic kilometers of ice per year, between 2002 and 2006. Antarctica has lost about 150 cubic kilometers of ice between 2002 and 2005, and approximately 4 billion tons of ice have been lost per year in the world since 1994. The ice sheets are melting because of the heat being reflected back down from the greenhouse gas emissions in Earth’s atmosphere. This impacts climate because the ice is melting away into the ocean, and causing higher sea levels. The ice sheets in the ocean help keep the surrounding areas cold, and they are melting at extremely fast pace every day. Without them, it will become warm in places meant to be cold, which will end up killing the wildlife living there, and leading to many species extinction. Not only that, but without the ice sheets in the ocean, sunlight cannot be reflected out of the polar areas from the ice sheets, so the glaciers are absorbing the heat and melting faster than ever before. With these melting ice sheets comes sea level rise. It is predicted for the ocean to rise 1 to 4 feet by 2100. Sea level rise also comes from heat hitting the

Over the past few decades, the ice that can be found in Greenland, Antarctica and the Arctic Ice Caps, has begun to melt away. These massive sheets of frozen water are disappearing at an unbelievably fast rate. The problem boils down to global warming. Climate change has been around for millions of years and is unavoidable, but the way people live their everyday lives has sped up the process and has had a major impact on our world. The way humans treat the earth is indisputably killing the only planet we’ve ever known. Although the affects of climate change are not always prominent to the average person, scientists have noticed a massive change in the ice located in these colder regions and are blaming it on global warming.

"Sea ice also creates a cap on the ocean. This cap helps keep water from evaporating into the atmosphere." (P.2). The weather takes the hit for this cap and becomes colder and drier in the iced-covered areas. This cap, also prevents the water’s heat from escaping, and being released into the air, thus adding to global warming.

The melting of the ice caps is the biggest and fastest change to the Earth ever caused by human activity. Alun Anderson, author of “The Great Melt The Coming Transformation of the Arctic”, states that “Temperature rise was always expected to be fastest in the Arctic. White ice reflects sunlight back into space like a giant mirror, but when it turns into dark water, the heat is soaked up instead. The seas then warm, more ice melts, and even more heat is absorbed in a destructive feedback loop that amplifies temperatures.” The disappearance of the ice is by no means the end of the Arctic itself. Humans will not only have destroyed the Arctic but transformed it as well, making it more like the waters of the south.

One of the major effects of the changing of our climate in recent years has been on our glaciers. These massive sources of fresh water can greatly change our ocean climate, which can lead to many negative effects on the marine environment. The ecosystems within this environment rely on a delicate balance, and glacial melting can seriously upset this equilibrium.

The melting ice caps are having a dramatic affect on the polar regions of the earth. For example, the average temperature in the Arctic is rising twice as fast than the rest of the world (nrdc.org). The once prominent ice is now melting at a dramatic speed, which is affecting native people, wildlife, and plants. When the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf splintered, the freshwater lake that it surrounded drained into the ocean, along with the ecosystem that inhabited it. Polar bears, whales, walrus and seals are changing their feeding and migration patterns, making it harder for native people to hunt them (nrdc.org). Because of the flooding, entire villages will be uprooted order to avoid being swamped. Also, the Arctic coastlines are beginning to move as well. The melting ice caps are threatening the native peoples’ cultural identity and their very survival. Ice-dependant animals, such as walruses and ring seals will be greatly affected by the melting ice caps (treehugger.com). They have fewer places to rest on, as well as fewer places to hunt. If the ice caps keep melting, their lives will become in great danger. The melting ice caps are not only affecting the Polar Regions, but they are also affecting the rest of the world as well in the form of rising ocean levels.

Every summer, large ice formations such as glaciers and polar ice caps naturally melt. The following cold season of winter is meant to slow down the melting through snowing. However, in a recent couple of years, it has not been the case (Leary, 34). The persistent rise in temperatures as a result of global warming has led to abnormally higher rates of melting and reduced snowfall due to delayed winters and early springs. This has led to an imbalance in the ratio of ocean evaporation to runoff leading to rising in sea levels.

Annual arctic sea ice, at the end of every summer the ice reaches its minimum length leaving a perennial ice cover. That cover is slowly becoming smaller since 1979 meaning was getting less ice but this doesn't just affect us, it affects all arctic animals and sea creature. Recent satellite information revealed that the lower parts of Greenland's ice sheet have been thinning. Even if a small part were to melt the sea levels would rise 3 feet, now it may not seem like much but it makes all the differences. If we continue like this the whole lower half will melt and sea levels will rise 16-24 feet, flooding a good portion of Miami, New Orleans and all there surrounding islands, most of Amsterdam, the coast of Norwich and England, George town, Macapa and other coastal