Thẻ: Arctic sea ice

Who owns the Arctic and Why the Arctic is climate change’s canary in the coal mine

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Global warming is heating up the Arctic, and global powers like the United States, Russia and China are manoeuvring to stake a claim to the resources under its melting ice. Some experts say the region, once known as an exception – an island of international cooperation in the midst of geopolitical struggles – is becoming the site of a second cold war.

The Arctic may seem like a frozen and desolate environment where nothing ever changes. But the climate of this unique and remote region can be both an early indicator of the climate of the rest of the Earth and a driver for weather patterns across the globe. William Chapman explains why scientists often describe the Arctic as the “canary in the coal mine” when it comes to climate change

Alarm as Arctic sea ice not yet freezing at latest date on record

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

theguardian.com

Delayed freeze in Laptev Sea could have knock-on effects across polar region, scientists say

Sea Ice crystals
 Climate change is pushing warmer Atlantic currents into the Arctic and breaking up the usual stratification between warm deep waters and the cool surface. This also makes it difficult for ice to form. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

For the first time since records began, the main nursery of Arctic sea ice in Siberia has yet to start freezing in late October.

The delayed annual freeze in the Laptev Sea has been caused by freakishly protracted warmth in northern Russia and the intrusion of Atlantic waters, say climate scientists who warn of possible knock-on effects across the polar region.

Ocean temperatures in the area recently climbed to more than 5C above average, following a record breaking heatwave and the unusually early decline of last winter’s sea ice.

The trapped heat takes a long time to dissipate into the atmosphere, even at this time of the year when the sun creeps above the horizon for little more than an hour or two each day.

Graphs of sea-ice extent in the Laptev Sea, which usually show a healthy seasonal pulse, appear to have flat-lined. As a result, there is a record amount of open sea in the Arctic.

“The lack of freeze-up so far this fall is unprecedented in the Siberian Arctic region,” said Zachary Labe, a postdoctoral researcher at Colorado State University. He says this is in line with the expected impact of human-driven climate change.

“2020 is another year that is consistent with a rapidly changing Arctic. Without a systematic reduction in greenhouse gases, the likelihood of our first ‘ice-free’ summer will continue to increase by the mid-21st century,’ he wrote in an email to the Guardian. Tiếp tục đọc “Alarm as Arctic sea ice not yet freezing at latest date on record” →