Climate change is a fact. Humans are causing it, and it is perhaps the most serious issue that humankind is facing today. Starting from the Industrial Revolution the amount of carbon dioxide in the air is increasing constantly. Consequently, the continuous increase in earth’s temperature is a clear indicator of how carbon dioxide effects the earth. One of the major problem that global warming is causing is the melting of sea ice in the arctic. Due to the melting of the sea ice, global temperature suffers. In order to stop the global climate change, the congressional committee on environment must pass a legislation to regulate the use of fossil fuels, because climate change in the arctic is causing all the ice to melt, the permafrost to thaw, and it has huge impact on the vegetation and the wildlife.
Over the years the loss of extensive amount of ice serves as the evidence that, arctic is in fact warming faster than any other region on the earth. According to NSIDC, March 2015 ice extension is recorded at average 14.39 million square kilometers. This is the lowest recorded ice extension compared to average of 15.52 million square
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There are three factors that contribute into sea level rise in the arctic. Primarily, the water expansion due to higher temperatures causing sea level to rise. Higher temperature causes thermal expansion which causes less dense water that takes up more space in the ocean. Secondly, melting of the glaciers that can contribute to sea level rise. And finally, the most serious cause is the melting of the ice sheets in the Antarctica which can contribute to 7 meters rise in sea level in coming years. Also statistically, “during the 20th century, the sea level has rose about 15 to 20 centimeters (roughly 1.5 to 2.0 mm/year)” (Climate Institute). In that case, it will be soon when sea erosion causes a destruction that will cause global
Various glaciers in Alaska and other parts of the United States have shrunk dramatically. If temperatures continue to rise, the ice will continue to melt, and some glaciers could disappear completely, which causes sea levels to rise. There are many animals, birds, and seafood that depend solely on glaciers for survival. With an increase in sea water temperature, and increasing sea levels, sea-plants that these fish thrive on will be lost, lowering the number of seafood, which in-turn will make survival of many species difficult. The arctic is source region for cold ocean currents and with no ice it will have no density and temperature distinctions, which pushes the ocean currents. If the ocean current heat transfer mechanism powers down,
The planet we live in, the earth is a tiny composition in this huge universe. It has diversities ranging from highly variant temperature and pressure belts as well as various ecosystem types. One such remarkable feature of the earth is the polar ice caps. There are three major prominent features, the Antarctic ice on the South Pole, the Arctic ice on the North Pole and Greenland on the north between North America and Europe. Antarctica consist about 90 percent of the world's ice (and 70 percent of its fresh water). It is covered with ice an average of 2,133 meters (7,000 feet) thick. If all of the Antarctic ice melted, sea levels around the world would rise about 61 meters (200 feet). The Arctic ice is not so thick in comparison and it mostly floats in the Arctic Ocean. Greenland, on the other hand would add another 7 meters (20 feet) to the oceans if it melted because Greenland is closer to the equator than Antarctica, the temperatures there are higher, so the ice is more likely to melt. Scientists from the Universities of London and Edinburgh say that ice loss in Antarctica and Greenland together contribute approximately 12 percent of the rise in sea levels. The melting of these enormous ice bodies can significantly impact the global changes in climate and reversely, this climate changes also impact the melting of the ice bodies. It is a two way process and the causes are mostly anthropogenic.
First, global warming has an immense impact on Arctic Sovereignty as the rise of greenhouse gases thrive in Canada along with other countries. Within 20 years, the polar ice caps of the Arctic have melted twice as fast compared to before. The loss of Arctic ice can furthermore pose a threat to shipping, as navigating the Arctic becomes increasingly challenging. Finally, climate change threatens the extinction of numerous animal species, namely the polar bear. Hence, global warming poses a major challenge to Arctic Sovereignty and Canada along with other members in the Arctic Council must prevent it.
Global warming is the greatest challenge facing our planet. It is one of the widely discussed topics because global warming is a threat to all living things on Earth. The animals and people in the arctic are already experiencing this. The earth’s temperature dramatically increased during the past 50 years and now, ice caps are melting w...
People are responsible for higher carbon dioxide atmosphere emissions, while the Earth is now into the Little Ice Age, or just behind it. These factors together cause many years discussions of the main sources of climate changes and the temperature increasing as a result of human been or natural changes and its consequences; even if its lead to the global warming, or to the Earth’s cooling. In their articles, “Global Warming Is Eroding Glacial Ice” by Andrew C. Revkin and “Global Warming Is Not a Threat to Polar Ice” by Philip Stott, both authors discuss these two theories (Revkin 340; Stott 344). Revkin is right that global warming is taking place. Significant increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is due to human activities combined with natural factors such as volcanic emissions and solar radiation – all together they lead to climate changes and temperatures rising. At the same time, other factors such as deforestation contribute to environmental changes for some glaciers not less than air pollution. However, during global warming not all regions of the planet are affected in the same way, local warming and cooling are both possible during these changes.
There are many facts proving that global warming exists. According to NASA, average temperatures have climbed 1.4 degrees around the world since 1880, much of this in recent decades (“Global Warming Fast Facts” 1). This obviously isn’t much, but it does prove that the earth is indeed getting warmer, hence “Global Warming”. And researchers say that not only is the earth getting warmer, but the rate at which it is heating up is increasing. In this century, the last two decades have been the earth’s hottest for 400 years, and possibly the warmest it has been for several millennia (“Global Warming Fast Facts” 1). This could mean many different things: one being that humans are contributing to this, or that the earth is going through a cycle. The United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that 11 of the past 12 years have been among the warmest since 1850 (“Global Warming Fast Facts” 1). But the Arctic is feeling the biggest effects. Average temperatures in Alaska, Canada, and parts of Russia have risen twice the global average, according to the multinational Arctic Climate Impact Assessment. By 2040, the Arctic may have its first ice-free summer, since ice is disappearing so rapidly (“Global Warming Fast Facts” 1). This can be bad for many of the animal inhabitants of this region, such as polar bears who ...
The use of fossil fuels has greatly increased the amount of atmospheric and oceanic CO2 to a point where it’s ruining the natural flow of the world; the earth’s temperature is rising. As a result, the polar ice caps are melting causing the seas to rise. With only a 1 meter increase in sea level the United States alone could lose over 10,000 square miles of land, and thousands of houses will be destroyed. The effects will be just as prominent around the world: many islands will become submerged, 17% of Bangladesh will be underwater, and tens of thousands of people will be displaced (“Global Warming” 3).
Jim Thomson an oceanographer from the University of Washington has made a remarkable correlation between waves in the Arctic Ocean and global warming. According to Thomson the increasing wave size that he documented during a storm is because of the increasing open ocean (University of Washington, 2014.). The open ocean in the Arctic a decade ago was only 100 miles, but in 2012, it was documented at more than 1000 miles (University of Washington, 2014.) With more open ocean, the normal harsh winds, and warmer temperatures it is predicted that wave sizes will increase. Currently, Thomson measured storm waves reaching sixteen feet and it can only be concluded that waves will increase in size (University of Washington, 2014.). The open ocean impacts the wave size because as wind blows across the surface the water will ripple and create white caps, which will steady double in size, and because of more open ocean the waves will keep getting bigger. This is a problem because as shipping companies look for ice-free routes they will face more stormy ocean weather, which is the leading cause of death on the ocean waterways.
The Arctic region is getting warmer than it used to be and it continues to get warmer. Over the past 30 years it has gotten warmer than any other regions on earth. Scientist say that weather and climate change is caused by human activity. Polar bears can’t live in this warm temperature that they are getting.
It begins its melting trend every year on April 10. The Ice Sheet shows scientists the effect of climate change and that its increasing slowly every year.
It is an unquestioned fact that the climate is changing. There is abundant evidence that the world is becoming warmer and warmer. The temperature of the global land average temperature has increased by about 8.5 degrees centigrade from 1880 to 2012 (Karr, et al 406). The one or two degrees increase in temperature can cause dramatic and serious consequences to the earth as well as humans. More extreme weather occurs, such as heat waves and droughts. The Arctic Region is especially sensitive to global climate change. According to the data in recent decades, the temperature in the Arctic has increased by more than 2 degrees centigrade in the recent half century (Przybylak 316). Climate change has led to a series of environmental and ecological negative
The burning of fossil fuels has greatly harmed our environment and is a leading cause as to why climate change has become such a threat to our way of living. In May of 2013, the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere reached 400 parts per million, an increase of more than 40 percent since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. This could cause the Arctic Ocean to be nearly ice-free during the summer by 2020(Overland and Wang, 2013).
The polar regions are most affected and vulnerable to the warming temperatures because the poles are covered in ice. The world’s ice sheets are melting faster than ever and temperatures in the Arctic region are rising twice as fast as anywhere else on Earth according to the NRDC. This will have a serious impact on people, wildlife and plants in that region. The National Climate Assessment has said that “By the year 2100, it 's estimated our oceans will be one to four feet higher, threatening coastal systems and low-lying areas, including entire island nations and the world 's largest cities, including New York, Los Angeles, and Miami as well as Mumbai, Sydney, and Rio de Janeiro”. Polar bears are in great threat as the ice sheets melt because they use the ice to travel across the land and hunt. As the sea-ice platforms move further apart, the swimming conditions become more dangerous. The U.S Geological Survey done by the National Wildlife Federation predicts that by the year 2050, two thirds of all polar bears will disappear. Researcher Bill Fraser has tracked the Adelie penguins in Antarctica and reported the numbers have fallen from 32,000 to only 11,000 over the last 30
Many climate scientists, researchers, and environmentalists are expressing concerns about shifts in the overall climate of the earth. It is believed that a dramatically dangerous warming is taking place in the overall global climate, a problem that is referred to as "global warming”. Global warming is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of Earth’s climate system. This temperature rise is due to the damaging effects of deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels. It is our responsibility to preserve our planet and our way of living but in order to do that we need to act now. If we continue to destroy the planet with no regard as to how serious this matter is there could be several negative effects to us as human being and other living thing on Earth. This is why global warming is truly a global issue and needs to be tackled collectively. We must to act now in order to reduce the dangerous levels of carbon dioxide emissions and we must to work together.
Global warming is a serious problem with two major effects which are increasing in sea level and degradation of wild lives. Increase in sea level is affecting the entire landmass of the earth. According to NASA, the polar ice cap is melting at the alarming rate of nine percent per decade. Arctic ice thickness has decreased 40 percent since the 1960s (Oskin). The amount of water is more than the land in our planet. If this global warming continues at this pace, soon there will be no ground left on earth. The terrestrial animals will be exterminated from the earth if glo...