The impact humans are having on mother Earth is increasing its effects with the rising of sea levels. Global warming is causing polar ice sheets to melt, which is a major cause of adding volume to our oceans. Furthermore, the troposphere thickens, due to greenhouse gases, increasing the amount of radioactive waves that causes the seawater to warm up, resulting in ocean expansion. Most climatologists are expecting a rise in oceans around the world to be between 1.5 and 5 ft by the end of this century.(Harkinson) Some members of our society feel that because climate change is not certain, they are not willing to make a difference to help. Many people are unaware of how rapidly we have impacted mother Earth. The melting of the polar ice sheets resulting in rising sea levels should not be taken lightly. NASA satellites show a 9% decrease in the ice cap each decade. Every six years an assessment report is conducted by scientists, who have noted the need to make a difference before it’s too late. The problem is uncontrolled human activity that takes for granted the resources Earth provides us with. Through this we are facing extinction of many types of flora and fauna, as natural habitats disappear. The IPCC has very high confidence that humans have created much of the global problem. The hottest years have peaked within the last 10 years. The temperatures in the Artic regions are being raised twice as fast as they are anywhere else. The biggest ice block in the artic, the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, had been around for 3000 years when it suffered from a crack in 2000 and has split entirely causing it to break into little pieces. (NRDC) The artic regions are most vulnerable because it reflects the solar energy off of its surface. However, as ... ... middle of paper ... ...Also, reducing any energy containing fossil fuels, reusing products, and recycling will help Earth. Bibliography Gardiner, Lisa. "Warming of the Polar Regions." Windows to the Universe. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. Greenpeace. "The Threat of Sea Level Rise." Site has moved. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. Harkinson, Josh. "Print." Slate Magazine. Mother Jones, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2011. http://fray.slate.com/toolbar.aspx?action=print&id=2252063. "NRDC: Global Warming Basics." NRDC: Natural Resources Defense Council - The Earth's Best Defense. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming. "Report 1: Physical Evidence." Hinkle Charitable Foundation: Advocating for Environmental and Musical Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2011.
The book by David Archer (2009) includes details that will make the readers understand the future of climate change as well as past events that have changed the present climate, as we know it. David Archer is a professor of geophysical sciences at the University of Chicago and has done many public presentations on the earth’s climate change before releasing his book, the long Thaw.
"global warming, climate change, earth and environment news from Scientific American." global warming, climate change, earth and environment news from Scientific American. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2013. .
Weaver, A. J., & Hillaire-Marcel, C. (2004). Global warming and the next ice age. Science, 304(5669), 400-402.
“The Polar Regions control the earth’s heat balance and if the cover begins to melt and shrink, it will reflect less sunlight, and the Arctic will become a poorer repository, eventually warming the climate of the entire planet.”1
If someone was asked to describe the physical condition of the Arctic and Antarctic regions, how would he or she describe them? Would they think of miles of pure, plain ice as far as the eye can see, or would they picture an ever-growing sea of icebergs and saltwater where the miles of ice once were? Though it may be hard to imagine, slowly melting ice in the Polar Regions have the potential to cause hazardous calamities around the world. As the polar ice caps continue to melt, the potential danger that could result grows by astounding margins. Scientists, however, have devised different ways to combat this growing danger and its source.
Sea levels are rising today not only because of thermal expansion but also melting of glaciers and polar ice caps.
"Ocean Events." GRACE â Uncovering the 2010-11 Decline in Global Mean Sea Level and Its Relation to ENSO (October, 2012). N.p., 8 Oct. 2012. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.
“Climate change: How do we know?” NASA. NASA n. d. n. pag. Web. 28 November
NASA. “Global Climate Change. Vital Signs of the Planet” National Aeronautics and Space Administration. July 2013. Web. April 28th, 2014.
It is an unquestioned fact that the climate is changing. There is abundant evidence that the world is becoming warmer and warmer. The temperature of the global land average temperature has increased by about 8.5 degrees centigrade from 1880 to 2012 (Karr, et al 406). The one or two degrees increase in temperature can cause dramatic and serious consequences to the earth as well as humans. More extreme weather occurs, such as heat waves and droughts. The Arctic Region is especially sensitive to global climate change. According to the data in recent decades, the temperature in the Arctic has increased by more than 2 degrees centigrade in the recent half century (Przybylak 316). Climate change has led to a series of environmental and ecological negative
"Global Warming Impacts | UCSUSA." Union of Concerned Scientists. UCS, 5 Sept. 2013. Web. 23 May 2014.
Although the major indicator of climate change in the polar regions is melting sea ice, there are a few more things happening to sea ice in the arctic. In the study, “Recent Sea Ice Ecosystem in the Arctic Ocean: a review,” Full names of authors Melnikov (2009) finds that sea ice is shifting to the north, sea ice thickness and surface is decreasing, and finally, ice open areas are increasing. It is not that sea ice is disappearing altogether, but rather it is going through a shift from having more multi-year sea ice to more first year, or seasonal sea ice (57). This means that the ice that has been in the arctic for a long time is slowly decreasing in thickness and in surface area, while ice that forms in the winter is becoming more frequent. The result is more ice open areas.
Mastrandrea, Michael D. "Global warming." World Book Advanced. World Book, 2013. Web. 8 Nov. 2015.
Lovgren, Stefan. "NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC NEWS - REPORTING YOUR WORLD DAILY." Warming to Cause Catastrophic Rise in Sea Level? National Geographic News, 26 April 2004. Web. 10 Sept. 2011. .
Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. Global Climate Change. Ed Amber Jenkins. NASA’s c Jet Propulsion Laboratory/CIT. Web. 12 Jan. 2014