There is much talk about the increase in the average temperature of the planet, the thaw and climate change. The amount of data is often overwhelming, especially because time passes and the process accelerates and more and more data is available. It is not always easy to assimilate all that information. In this avalanche of data, all of a sudden, one comes along that claims that Antarctic sea ice is increasing. But didn't the opposite have to happen?
Everything has its explanation. Next, in the following EcologiaVerde article we offer you a series of data on the melting of the poles, data to clarify the question about the increase (at certain times of the year) of ice around the frozen continent and other factors related to climate change.
What is the melting of the poles
To begin with, it is convenient to know what exactly the melting of the poles of the planet is. Thus, the thawing of this part of the Earth is about the melting ice from the poles, the loss of ice that turns into water that increases the level of the oceans and seas. It must be borne in mind that thawing is a natural process, since the Earth has had times of glaciation as well as warming. However, the current problem occurs because this melting of the ice it is happening much faster than normal, due to the great and polluting human activity, which accelerates global warming. Therefore, we can say that this thaw does not occur completely naturally and, therefore, it becomes a serious and urgent problem for humans and the rest of the living beings that inhabit the planet. A clear example is the situation of the polar bear, which is on the way to extinction.
Antarctica or South Pole is heating up at a very rapid rate
The waters of the Antarctica warming faster than the global average. The whole planet is warming up and, of course, so does the Antarctic area, the south pole of the planet. But the ocean around the South Pole continent has been warming faster than the rest of the world's oceans since the 1950s, at a rate of 0.17 ° C, while the world average has been 0.1 ºC.
Widespread thaw across the planet
A general thaw occurs in the rest of the world. The rise of Antarctic sea ice does not compensate for the loss of sea ice in the Arctic. In total terms, sea ice has decreased constantly since 1979. Add to that the loss of ice in Greenland and glaciers. Thus, it can be stated that the earth is thawing by leaps and bounds.
This general loss of ice cover causes the surface of the Earth to reflect less solar energy, which reinforces global warming and, therefore, the process is fed back, that is, the thaw will continue and, probably, at a higher speed. All this thaw affects the sea level, which increases also in an increasingly accelerated way.
Despite all these data contrasted by scientists, clear evidence that not only is there global warming, but also that it is accelerating in recent times, some media continue to downplay the consequences of climate change.
Paradoxically, the ice increased in 2012
Despite the rapid warming, there is more Antarctic sea ice. On September 26, 2012, the United States' National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) confirmed that Antarctic sea ice reached a record extension of 19.44 million square kilometers.
Scientists believe that the cause of this increase is the wind. Trends in sea ice are closely linked to local winds. In particular, it is due to the changing force of cold winds that carry the ice away from the coast and are capable of freezing the water. A new study indicates that the ozone hole in the southern hemisphere may also be affecting the phenomenon.
Most of the ice in Antarctica is on land. There is a lot of talk lately about sea ice, but most of the ice in Antarctica is that which is in a vast expanse that covers the earth's surface and that extends to the surrounding ocean, which is known, all of it, as antarctic ice sheet.
On the other hand, according to satellite measurements, since 2002 the mass of the Antarctic ice sheet has been decreasing at a rate of 100 cubic kilometers per year on average.
The sea melt in the Arctic or North Pole
In the Artic, something very different happens because most of the region is ocean. Antarctica is a land mass surrounded by the ocean, while the Arctic is an ocean surrounded by land. For this reason, the behaviors before and because of the weather are different. In the Arctic, floating sea ice melts as a direct result of water heating and the wind affects very little in this case. In September 2012, Arctic sea ice reached its lowest point since satellite records began in 1979.
Latest data on the melting of the poles
However, data on the melting of the poles that are more recent indicate that, in the case of Antarctica, the largest glacier, known as the Totten, which is 130 km long and 30 km wide, is melting due to rising ocean temperatures. Another of the largest glaciers, called Smith, has decreased in size in recent years. Specifically, smith glacier has lost 2 km of surface area per year, reaching lose 35 km of surface.
Currently, unfortunately, NASA has announced that it appears that we have reached the point where the thawing situation of Antarctica is irreversible.
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