Scientists warn of melting ice...a danger threatening the world
Scientists warn of melting ice...a danger threatening the world
The pace of melting ice in West Antarctica is expected to accelerate significantly in the coming decades, which could cause sea levels to rise, even if countries around the world fulfill their commitment to limit climate warming, according to a recent study.
A danger threatening the world
Researchers from the British Antarctic Survey Institute, who prepared this new study published on Monday, warned that humanity has “lost control” over the fate of the ice shelf, which is a giant mass of ice that floats on the main ice sheet and forms a stabilizing factor for it while preventing the melting of glaciers in the area. Ocean.
Antarctica has seen accelerating ice loss in recent decades, while scientists have indicated that the West Antarctica ice sheet, which contains enough water to raise ocean levels by several metres, may be approaching a climate "tipping point".
Ocean temperatures rise
The researchers noted, after using computer modeling, that accelerated melting of the ice shelf is inevitable in the coming decades due to rising ocean temperatures.
Even if greenhouse gas emissions decline and climate warming remains at the 1.5°C threshold compared to the pre-industrial era, which is what the Paris Agreement aims to achieve, the results will be very similar.
The study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, addressed the process of melting the floating ice shelf in the Amundsen Sea, which is caused by ocean water.
Even in the best case, ocean warming in the 21st century could be three times faster than in the 20th century.
Warning alarm
The study's lead author, Caitlin Naughton, confirmed that researchers have "every reason to expect" that the melting ice will cause sea levels to rise that are expected to reach one meter by the end of the century, although they have not subjected this to a clear study.
She believed that "the melting of the West Antarctic ice shelf is one of the effects of climate change that we must adapt to."
She added that millions of people around the world currently live in coastal areas at low altitude, and some "coastal communities will have to either build homes around their areas or leave them."
Alberto Navaira Garabato, professor of physical oceanography at the University of Southampton, considered this study “a cause for concern.”
In an interview with Science Media Center, he said that the results of the study show how our previous choices caused a significant melting of the ice sheet in West Antarctica and then a rise in sea levels, which we will have to adapt to as a society over the coming decades and centuries.
He pointed out that the results represent a "warning bell" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and thus avoid any other dangerous climate consequences, such as the melting of the ice sheet in East Antarctica, which is currently considered the most stable.
The authors of the study pointed out that even if emissions were reduced significantly, this would not make a significant difference in the process of melting the ice cover in West Antarctica during the current century, but it may have an impact in the long term, because the ice may take centuries, if not thousands of years, to be affected by climate change. .
Jonathan Bamber, professor at the School of Geographical Sciences at the University of Bristol, pointed out that the study is somewhat limited because the researchers used only one ocean model, and did not clearly study the impact of rising water temperatures on sea levels.
“This part of West Antarctica contains enough ice to raise sea levels by more than one meter, so it is important to understand how it will change in the future,” added Bamber, who was not involved in the study.
