The Importance Of Sea Ice In The Northern Arctic

Climate change is going to affect the arctic more dramatically than other parts of the world. A study has shown that the average temperature has risen over 2ºC from 1960-2011 ("Climate Change In the Arctic"). Just a couple weeks ago the arctic was 20ºC higher than usual. Rising temperatures are going to affect the sea ice and glaciers, vegetation and wildlife as well as infrastructure. Of course these things won't just disappear quietly, they will take many other things down with them.

Environmental change in the Arctic has been a subject of recent interest within the discourse of global warming, climate change, and indigenous rights; however, scholars have yet to examine the importance of 20th century racial, cultural, and environmental interactions within Northern Canada. Specifically, the Northern areas of Ontario, Quebec, and Manitoba provide interesting and important issues that are critical to current discussions of global warming, climate change, and water rights and quality because of their location to the Hudson Bay and the intertwined environmental experience. Unlike other areas of Northern Canada, areas in Northern Quebec, Manitoba, and Ontario are subject to multiple political systems (i.e. provincial, federal,

As important as it is, Arctic coastal sea ice plays a vital role in dynamics of the coastline, covers stretches of open water which serve as important biological habitats, and serves as a platform for a broad range of activities by residents and industries (Druckenmiller et al., 2009). Sea ice is also important because it is used as a platform for harvesting seals and whales in spring, transport of personnel and supplies to camps, and as a network of trails (Druckenmiller et al., 2009). Dangerous effects of climate change include “ice breakouts” which are when large chunks of ice that whalers are using as working areas break off of the main ice blocks and take whaling camps out to sea (Druckenmiller et al.,

Economic growth is vital to sustain human life; however, the unsustainable consumption of natural resources to attain this demand is leading to self-destruction. The Earth is facing environmental changes, including climate changes, which are altering the Earth system. Significantly higher thermal expansion is inescapable if the increasing pollution by carbon dioxide emission continues relentlessly. One evidence of this change is global warming and its impact in the Arctic Ice. The critical role of the Arctic in the global climate system implies that Arctic Ice changes will have far-reaching connotations for, and feedbacks to, the entire Earth. Currently, the warning signs include: rapid diminishing of sea ice, increased mass

The increasing global temperatures have caused many problems in Arctic ecosystems. The increasing warmth has caused ice caps to melt, and permafrost to thaw, causing shifts in the ecosystems around them. 1According to Harris (2005) “Permafrost is soil, rock or sediment that is frozen for more than two consecutive years. In areas not overlain by ice, it exists beneath a layer of soil, rock or sediment, which freezes and thaws annually and is called the "active layer".” (p. 17). While the melting of ice may not seem like a big issue at first glance, its effects are truly catastrophic. Many professionals in this field, such as Houghton (2009) have said 2“Warming is expected to be strongest in the Arctic, with the continuing retreat of

The change the Artic will have an impact on the earth. Temperatures in the Arctic are rising at twice the rate of the rest of the world on average, and melting glaciers and land-based ice sheets are contributing to rising sea levels. Rising ocean temperatures are affecting ocean ecosystems. In turn having an affect on the communities and economies that depend on them. The changing Arctic could lead to global changes in ocean-based food security that will place additional burdens on economies, societies, and institutions around the world.

In conclusion, the melting of the sea ice leads to a lack of food availability, increased swimming time, and dysfunctional maternal dens, which causes loss of body mass, declined reproductive fitness, increased human-bear interaction, lack of genetic diversity, and ultimately higher mortality

Another impact of ice melt would be flooding and permafrost in communities or hometowns in places such as Alaska. (Sason) People that have been living there had no choice but to move out due to the tragic impacts of global warming. According to Sason, permafrost releases methane, a natural gas, which is, as stated in the previous paragraphs, a more climate change causing than carbon dioxide. And if all the ice caps melt, the sea levels will rise, which will cause some of the cities to disappear from the map. And it will, of course, cause flooding to the communities around that will take out most of the population. Some people might not even believe that the planet is facing global warming since they believe that they are experiencing an extremely cold weather rather than extreme heat. This is just exactly what the major impact of global warming or climate change is about: Extremeness of coldness and heat. Some places are experiencing El niño and La niña. This is just one of the many debates concerning global warming. People are not realizing that the issue is actually more dangerous than it

This not only will affect the ocean, but as ice melts this will affect animals in the arctic such as the polar bears. The polar bears will have a less; access to food, body condition, and a loss of access in

Imagine the world without arctic seals, polar bears and penguins. A planet that doesn’t have frozen tundra’s or even the arctic. Lately, global warming has grown to increasingly high levels, while people are starting to pay attention most of the issues we’ve created are irreversible. Sea levels and temperatures have increased, these two problems combined could have a severe effect on the arctic and the rest of the planet. Studies show that Antarctica's huge West Antarctic Ice Sheet is beginning to collapse, a process reports say is unstoppable and could raise ocean levels by up to 12 feet. It is also predicted that by the end of the 21st century, average temperatures throughout the U.S. will rise between five and 10 degrees Fahrenheit. If the

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.

As a matter of fact, global climate change has accelerated in the past several decades and affecting various components around the world. Apparently, the effects of the climate change can be observed in places such as the Arctic Ocean, where the melting ice in Northern and Southern

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.

The Arctic and Antarctic sea ice is a necessity to the animals currently residing on the ice. It provides necessary nutrients for them to thrive off of, acts as a home for various amounts of species that are suitable to live there, and help keep the water’s heat from adding to the cause of global warming. In conclusion, sea ice is vital to keep the environment

Scientists have dedicated a significant amount of time and resources to establish the impacts of climate change on Arctic ecosystems. Markedly, the major concern of the study is the expectation that the Arctic region will face adverse effects of global warming than other biomes because the Arctic is more susceptible to these impacts of climate change. This explains the phenomenon of the vulnerability of the arctic zones to the climatic changes observed today. The effects of climatic changes have impacted on the arctic vegetation, arctic animal life, and life in the arctic seas.