How Does Climate Change Affect The Arctic

Stunted Again” written by Michael Pearson, the Earth is in trouble due to the decrease in Arctic

Some of the most obvious changes are happening in the Arctic, where the amount of ice in the ocean has decreased dramatically. Some signs of climate change include: higher temperatures, more droughts, wilder weather melting glaciers, warmer oceans etc.

The first is the fisheries. The fishing industry will be highly effected and we most likely see the prices for fish go up. With the melting of the glaciers and the increase of the forest fires that lead to an increase in warming of our planet, we can see the rise in sea levels around the coastal areas where some of my friends and family lives. Also with the rise in forest fires, we can personally experience warmer climates that effect the production of the food we eat every day. Everything is interconnected and with a huge region such as Alaska, the effects can permeate around the

The change the Artic will have an impact on the earth. Temperatures in the Arctic are rising at twice the rate of the rest of the world on average, and melting glaciers and land-based ice sheets are contributing to rising sea levels. Rising ocean temperatures are affecting ocean ecosystems. In turn having an affect on the communities and economies that depend on them. The changing Arctic could lead to global changes in ocean-based food security that will place additional burdens on economies, societies, and institutions around the world.

The first effect that global warming is having on Alaska regards coasts and oceans. In the northern summer, the sea ice is decreasing faster than previously recorded and it is foreseen to melt before mid-century (Chapin, F.S 2014). Solid ice is disappearing as there are no longer massive icebergs during fall and winter,

Polar bears are one of the countless species who are endangered. They were one of the first animals affected by global warming and their population is heavily decreasing. Around 1980, the Arctic was as large as 8 million square kilometres. In 2011, studies show that the Arctic has reduced its size to 4.5 million square kilometers. In the future, will there be anything such as the Arctic? Scientist predict by 2040, only a fringe of ice will remain in Northeast Canada and Northern Greenland. This is known as the Last Ice Area. This matter is mostly taking part in Canada, since; Canada holds more than half the world’s polar bear population. Other affected countries include the U.S. (Alaska), Greenland,

The ice caps are melting at an alarming rate and this mostly due to global warming. The reason why there is global warming is that there is a hole in our ozone layer, which protects living organisms from the harmful rays of the sun. Pollution from factories, cars, and other material that runs on fossil fuels is the main reason for pollution. When the rays of the sun hit the ice caps, the ice caps start to melt and then that causes the sea level to rise, which will cause cities to flood more often. If the ice caps keep melting, some cities might even go underwater because of global warming. If the ice caps keep melting it can also expose humans to diseases that have been frozen for hundreds of years. Many animals will lose their habitat because of the melting ice caps, they will have to move to a different area, and they could cause great destruction because they might become invasive species or they may perhaps die off and become extinct. To

Alaska has warmed twice as fast as the rest of the nation, bringing widespread impacts. Sea ice is rapidly receding and glaciers are shrinking. Thawing permafrost is leading to more wildfire, and affecting infrastructure and wildlife habitat. Rising ocean temperatures and acidification will alter valuable marine fisheries.

Although the increase in permafrost temperature seems like a small change, the possibility of vegetation being unable to thrive in these areas would be life changing for both people and wildlife. The melting of permafrost is also having a direct impact on weather patterns around the world. Bursts of abnormally cold weather in the Eastern U.S. and Europe during the winter have been linked to Arctic warming. Jennifer Francic and Stephen Vavrus “proposed that warming of the Arctic can modify the shape of the jet stream- the fast flowing air currents that circle the planet- enough to directly influence the weather at midlatitudes.” As these drastic changes are occurring in the Arctic region, the area is close to reaching a tipping point. A tipping point is a series of small changes that have a large enough impact to make a big, important change. When conditions in the Arctic reach this tipping point, causing rapid environmental impacts, a new equilibrium must be developed (Oleg Anisimov et al). Climate change is melting Arctic sea ice, which is causing changes in weather patterns in several other

The Polar Regions are made mostly of ice and are very susceptible to heat. The accelerated Greenhouse Effect has caused Arctic temperatures to increase 3°C in the past 100 years. This

One effect of Global Climate Change is glaciers in the arctic

The world warmed by about 0.7°C in the 20th century. Every year in this century has been warmer than all but one in the last century (1998). If carbon-dioxide levels were magically to stabilize where they are now (almost 390 parts per million, 40% more than before the industrial revolution) the world would probably warm by a further half a degree or so as the ocean, which is slow to change its temperature, caught up. But CO2 levels continue to rise. All this affect the ice pack in the Arctic. As temperature rises, ice melts. This causes many problems.

The melting ice caps are having a dramatic affect on the polar regions of the earth. For example, the average temperature in the Arctic is rising twice as fast than the rest of the world (nrdc.org). The once prominent ice is now melting at a dramatic speed, which is affecting native people, wildlife, and plants. When the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf splintered, the freshwater lake that it surrounded drained into the ocean, along with the ecosystem that inhabited it. Polar bears, whales, walrus and seals are changing their feeding and migration patterns, making it harder for native people to hunt them (nrdc.org). Because of the flooding, entire villages will be uprooted order to avoid being swamped. Also, the Arctic coastlines are beginning to move as well. The melting ice caps are threatening the native peoples’ cultural identity and their very survival. Ice-dependant animals, such as walruses and ring seals will be greatly affected by the melting ice caps (treehugger.com). They have fewer places to rest on, as well as fewer places to hunt. If the ice caps keep melting, their lives will become in great danger. The melting ice caps are not only affecting the Polar Regions, but they are also affecting the rest of the world as well in the form of rising ocean levels.

Global change is happening on Earth and is affecting the Polar Regions, especially Greenland. There are many things that global change is doing; temperatures rising, ice melting, and water levels rising. Temperature rising affects the ice melting, the heating of the Earth, and the weather. The melting of the ice affects sea levels rising and affects the temperature rising. Finally, sea level rising affects the climate and more temperature rising. These issues are and will continue to affect the Earth, badly.

One of the effects of global warming is the polar ice caps’ melting. Scientists have been researching and examining the polar ice caps for a long time and they have come to the conclusion that the thin ice sheets are slowly wasting away. They have also found out that Greenland’s glaciers are getting smaller and smaller. Places around the globe that use to be covered in ice and snow are now showing more green terrain as the years go on and as the winter months grow warmer. The polar ice caps are melting more and more due to higher global temperatures. This is really bad because the ice caps “reflect and help regulate the Earth’s temperatures.”