The Arctic Ice Cover
The Arctic ice at the North Pole melted at a record rate in the summer of 2016 which again shows that climate change has accelerated in recent years, according to climate scientists returns Wednesday .
It was a particularly hot summer for the Arctic region, where for the first time in history, ships sailed across the Arctic Ocean water that was part of the polar ice cap has déclaté Donald Perovich of the Army laboratory American Research and Engineering on cold Regions.
While during the summer of 1980, the North Pole was covered by an ice layer having about the same size as the United States, this summer the ice covered only area similar to states west of the Mississippi River.
"This is a significant decrease, but of course, the mystery remains about how this could have happened?" Said Perovich.
Scientists claim that two main factors accelerate the reduction of the ice sheet covering the North Pole, which helps cool the Earth by reflecting the sun's rays in the atmosphere.
While temperatures in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans rise, warmer water moves into the Arctic Ocean. This helps melt the Arctic ice cover, the water of this year was about 4 ° C warmer than its historical average, according to Michael Steele.
"Water that is now circulating just 200 meters below the main ice sheet is now significantly warmer there are only five years," said John Walsh of the University of Alaska.
While the Arctic ice water in the background, it also reflects only 7% of the sun's radiation, much less than the 85% that the ice normally reflects. While the Arctic Ocean is more exposed, it absorbs these extra of sunlight, thus accelerating the increase in global temperatures, said Perovich.
"This is a classic positive correlation. And these correlations are important in a climate perspective, because they can amplify small changes, "said Perovich.
He said people near the Arctic Circle already saw some of the North Pole warming effects. Companies are beginning to explore funding for natural resources in new areas, and coastal villages struggling against erosion as sea levels rise.
Scientists are also skeptical about the ability of humans to help generate a cold winter soon enough that it can allow the Arctic ice cover to refreeze.
New research shows that carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that warms the atmosphere, can be captured as it leaves the power plants burning coal, and can then be permanently sequestered in rock formations hundreds of meters below the surface of the Earth.
However, it will take about ten years before the first of these power plants to operate, said Juliana Fessenden of the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
"In 2016, we saw unprecedented signs of climate change," said Michael Steele, an oceanographer at the University of Washington, at the 2016 meeting of the American Geophysical Union, where 20,000 researchers have gathered to discuss earthquakes land, water resources and climate change.
It was a particularly hot summer for the Arctic region, where for the first time in history, ships sailed across the Arctic Ocean water that was part of the polar ice cap has déclaté Donald Perovich of the Army laboratory American Research and Engineering on cold Regions.
While during the summer of 1980, the North Pole was covered by an ice layer having about the same size as the United States, this summer the ice covered only area similar to states west of the Mississippi River.
"This is a significant decrease, but of course, the mystery remains about how this could have happened?" Said Perovich.
Scientists claim that two main factors accelerate the reduction of the ice sheet covering the North Pole, which helps cool the Earth by reflecting the sun's rays in the atmosphere.
While temperatures in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans rise, warmer water moves into the Arctic Ocean. This helps melt the Arctic ice cover, the water of this year was about 4 ° C warmer than its historical average, according to Michael Steele.
"Water that is now circulating just 200 meters below the main ice sheet is now significantly warmer there are only five years," said John Walsh of the University of Alaska.
While the Arctic ice water in the background, it also reflects only 7% of the sun's radiation, much less than the 85% that the ice normally reflects. While the Arctic Ocean is more exposed, it absorbs these extra of sunlight, thus accelerating the increase in global temperatures, said Perovich.
"This is a classic positive correlation. And these correlations are important in a climate perspective, because they can amplify small changes, "said Perovich.
He said people near the Arctic Circle already saw some of the North Pole warming effects. Companies are beginning to explore funding for natural resources in new areas, and coastal villages struggling against erosion as sea levels rise.
Scientists are also skeptical about the ability of humans to help generate a cold winter soon enough that it can allow the Arctic ice cover to refreeze.
New research shows that carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that warms the atmosphere, can be captured as it leaves the power plants burning coal, and can then be permanently sequestered in rock formations hundreds of meters below the surface of the Earth.
However, it will take about ten years before the first of these power plants to operate, said Juliana Fessenden of the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
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