Around the world, the rate of ice melting is accelerating due to climate change, on land and in water, in the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere.
Since 1994, satellite images have shown that more than 28 trillion tons of ice have melted in Greenland and Antarctica, as well as in the Arctic Ocean and the Southern Oceans.
Together, the loss equates to a 100-meter-thick ice shelf about the size of the United Kingdom. Melt water from Arctic sea ice and the Antarctic ice sheet make up half of that mass.
“The ice sheets are now following the worst climate warming scenarios set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,” said Thomas Slater, who studies land and ice elevation measurements at the University of Leeds.
“Sea level rise on this scale will have very serious consequences for coastal communities this century.”
It’s exactly what scientists have been warning us about for decades, and the reality is finally here with no signs of slowing down.
Over the course of the 23-year study period, researchers saw nearly 60 percent more ice loss worldwide.
(Planetary Visions / ESA / NASA)
Above: according to the European Space Agency (ESA), “a trillion tons of ice can be seen as a 10x10x10 kilometer ice cube. “In this illustration, that ice cube, which the ESA says is larger than Mount Everest, towers over New York City.
Last year, floating ice cover in the Arctic Ocean hit its lowest level since 1979, when satellite surveys began, and Antarctica experienced a melting event unlike anything experts had seen before.
The loss of the Earth’s ice is clearly accelerating and with gruesome results. As atmospheric temperatures continue to rise and ocean temperatures follow, melting sea ice and mountain glaciers around the world are succumbing to climate change.
Satellite observations show that glaciers are hardest hit by climate change, especially those in Greenland, Alaska and the Southern Andes. Despite the fact that glaciers make up just 1 percent of Earth’s total ice volume, researchers found that they carried nearly a quarter of all global ice loss.
Between 1994 and 2017, satellite observations reveal 6.1 trillion tons of ice melted from mountain glaciers, 3.8 trillion tons were lost by the Greenland ice sheet, and 2.5 trillion tons of the Antarctic ice sheet.
In total, that’s 35 millimeters of sea-level rise, and while the southern ice has proven more resilient, it’s also starting to crumble.
Since 2012, the rate of ice loss in Antarctica has tripled from the previous two decades, mainly due to the widespread melting of glaciers and thinning ice shelves.
Rising atmospheric temperatures are also starting to take their toll on drifting ice, causing the oldest and thickest plates to fall apart. While this type of melt does not directly contribute to sea level rise, it does not mean it is not a threat.
“One of the main functions of Arctic sea ice is to reflect solar radiation back into space, keeping the Arctic cool,” explains Isobel Lawrence, who specializes in remote sensing sea ice at the University of Leeds.
“As sea ice shrinks, more solar energy is being absorbed by the oceans and atmosphere, warming the Arctic faster than anywhere else in the world. Not only is this accelerating melting sea ice, it is also exacerbating the melting of glacial icecaps. the sea level is rising. “
For every inch of sea level rise, experts predict that one million people are at risk of displacement. In addition, mountain glaciers are a crucial source of fresh water for many local communities.
As the data comes in, what scientists feared most is all the more likely.
If things continue in the same vein, some think there is a chance that the Arctic will be virtually ice-free by 2035.
Other studies show that Greenland’s melting ice has already passed the point of no return.
In the south, more than half of the ice shelves supporting the Antarctic ice sheet are on the verge of buckling.
Everywhere we look, the cryosphere is facing catastrophe.
The study is published in The cryosphere.