Worldwide, the rate of ice melting is accelerating with climate change, both on land and in water, in the northern and southern hemispheres.
Since 1994, satellite imagery has revealed that more than 28 trillion tons of ice have melted in Greenland and Antarctica, as well as the Arctic and the South Seas.
Together, the loss comes to a 100-meter-thick sheet of ice around the size of the United Kingdom. Melting water from Arctic sea ice and Antarctic ice sheet makes up half of that mass.
“The ice sheets now follow the worst-case climate warming conditions described by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,” said Thomas Slater, who studies land and ice altimetry. at the University of Leeds.
“Rising sea levels on this scale will have a devastating effect on coastal communities in this century.”
That’s exactly what scientists have been warning us for decades, and the final truth on us with no sign of it is slowing down.
Over the 23-year study period, researchers saw nearly a 60 percent increase in the global ice loss rate.
(Planet views / ESA / NASA)
Above: According to the European Space Agency (ESA), “one trillion tons of ice can be thought of as an ice cube measuring 10x10x10 kilometers “. In this photograph, that ice cube, which the ESA says would be taller than Mount Everest, is building towers over a City New York.
Just last year, floating ice cover in the Arctic Ocean hit its lowest level since 1979 when satellite recordings began, and Antarctica ‘s melting event was unlike anything experts have seen before.
It is clear that the loss of the Earth’s ice is accelerating and with tremendous results. As atmospheric temperatures continue to rise and ocean temperatures continue to melt, sea ice is melting and mountain glaciers around the globe are adapting to climate change.
Satellite observations show that glaciers are some of the hardest hit by climate change, especially those in Greenland, Alaska, and the southern Andes. Despite the fact that glaciers make up only 1 percent of the Earth’s total ice mass, researchers found that they contributed nearly a quarter of the world’s ice loss.
Between 1994 and 2017, satellite observations revealed 6.1 trillion tons of ice melted from mountain glaciers, 3.8 trillion tons were lost from the Greenland ice sheet, and 2.5 trillion tons disappeared from an ice sheet. Antarctica.
In all, that’s 35 millimeters (1.4 inches) of sea level rise, and while southern ice has been more stable, it’s also starting to crumble.
Since 2012, the rate of ice loss in Antarctica has tripled compared to the previous two decades, largely due to widespread glacial melting and thinning ice shelves.
Rising air temperatures have also begun to put pressure on floating ice, causing the older and thicker slabs to break. Although this type of smelting does not directly contribute to sea level rise, it does not mean that it is not a threat.
“One of the main responsibilities of Arctic sea ice is to expose solar radiation back into space that will help keep the Arctic cool,” explained Isobel Lawrence, who is particularly sensitive to marine ice. at the University of Leeds.
“As sea ice erodes, more ocean energy is being absorbed by the oceans and atmosphere, causing the Arctic to warm faster than anywhere else on the planet. Not only does this accelerate sea ice, it also exacerbates the melting of ice sheets glaciers that cause sea levels to rise. “
For every centimeter of sea level rise, experts estimate that one million people are at risk of displacement. In addition, mountain glaciers are a source of freshwater for many local communities.
As the data goes in, what scientists fear looks more likely.
If things continue in the same way, some believe there is a chance that the Arctic could be virtually ice – free by 2035.
Other studies show that Greenland’s melting ice has not returned.
Down to the south, more than half of the ice shelves that support the Antarctic ice sheet are about to buckle.
Everywhere we look, the cryosphere is in disarray.
The study was published in The Cryosphere.