Global Warming And Thawing At The Polar Regions
Monday, December 24th, 2007 by Global Warmer Subscribe To Our Feed
A dramatic result of Global Warming is the serious changes occurring in the poles of our Earth. As our air is slowly heating from increasing hothouse gases the vast fields of ice are slowly melting. What does this mean for our lifestyle?
There are 2 regions. The Northern Arctic, a frozen ocean that has a population of about 4,000,000. And the Antarctica to the south, an ice-covered land mass encircled by ocean, and has very few residents.
Ice covered areas are highly reflective. As the air heats up and ice melts larger areas of dark ocean are revealed. This dark ocean area absorbs the sun’s heat more readily and so accelerates the thawing process. Changes in the size and shape of ice sheets have been uncovered by satellite images. And typical temperatures in the Arctic polar region have risen at almost twice the rate of typical temperatures over the world. This melting has resulted in the general increase in ocean levels everywhere on the planet. The I.P.C.C. or the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has calculated that ocean levels could rise from 0.3 to 2.9 feet in the next hundred years.
A few of these effects on our environment include -
- Increase in the saltiness of our rivers, bays, and ground water tables.
- The disappearance of the food supply and means of living for the inhabitants.
- Endangerment of sea life that may affect local economies and result in the loss of larger sea life depending on these ecosystems for food.
- Flooding of lower areas such as swamps and coastal regions.
- Thawing of permafrost destabilizing pipelines, buildings, roads, and more.
- The disappearance of l to 4 feet of shoreline each year along the ocean and gulf coasts. These have many resorts that will be vulnerable to economic losses.
- Increased danger from bad weather due to the erosion of natural and man made levees.
- The endangerment of seals, polar bears, and other creatures that inhabit the poles.
- Eroding of beaches.
A few of the measures that are being taken to counteract these issues are:
- Raising existing buildings.
- Replacing sand on the beaches to reverse any erosion.
- Building up coastlines with thoughtful placement of stone, sand, rocks, plants, and other materials.
- Limiting new construction in low lying areas.
For most people the poles seem too distant to matter. The fact remains, however, that the planet’s biosphere is a very complex environment that will react as a whole to any imbalance. The changes in the polar regions of the world provide yet again a warning sign that Global Warming is serious.
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