Preserve the Arctic
The Arctic Ocean could be completely ice-free in summer by 2100.
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Since 1971, the Arctic's average annual temperature has risen by 3.1 C.
The Arctic’s sea ice cover is fundamentally changing. For the worse.It is essential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to halt this process of negative changes and to restore balance to Earth.
Arctic Iceberg, Greenland. Source: Unsplash
In the Arctic Ocean and Southern Ocean during the cold seasons, vast quantities of ice are formed at the North and South Poles. It is estimated by scientists that the Arctic Ocean could be completely ice-free in summer by 2100. Even more dire predictions are that ice-free summers could be seen in a mere 30 years from now, i.e. by 2050.
Average ice-covered area in the Arctic ocean. Source: viaGood
The global environmental war is a reality for governments and individuals everywhere. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, the 2020 Arctic summer ice minimum was 1.44 million square miles (3.74 million square kilometers), which is below the average for 1981 to 2010. The winter ice is thinner and breaks up sooner during the following summer. This has disastrous consequences for all Arctic wildlife.
The map below shows the average monthly sea ice extent in March and September in 2018, illustrating the respective winter maximum and summer minimum extents:
Ice extent in March and September. Source: viaGood
There is general agreement among scientists that these data indicate that the Arctic’s sea ice cover is fundamentally changing. Populations of polar bears and other Arctic wildlife will decrease significantly as the Arctic sea ice disappears. **Decreasing sea ice will cause nearly all of the 19 polar bear **(Ursus maritimus) subpopulations in the Arctic regions to collapse. It is thus vital that our greenhouse emissions are drastically reduced.
Polar bear resting on an iceberg in the Arctic. Source: Unsplash
Read more about the threat to polar bears in the Save Polar Bears cause!
- Greenhouse Effect As explained in our Support Clean Air cause, the carbon dioxide from combusting fossil fuels and methane released by natural as well as industrial sources, including oil and gas drilling, have a destructive effect. By trapping the Earth’s heat in the atmosphere, greenhouse gases result in higher temperatures, which in turn cause rising sea levels, more extreme weather events, heat-related deaths, and the increased transmission of infectious diseases.
Greenhouse Effect. Source: viaGood
The glass walls of a greenhouse capture heat from the sun, keeping plants inside it warm, even in cold weather.
Our Fight Climate Change cause describes the effects of greenhouse gas emissions in more detail.
- Effect of Fossil Fuels The burning of fossil fuels and the resultant melting ice, makes Arctic oil easier to access and drill. The summer minimum sea ice is on the decline. In addition, the ice extent is also thinning at an alarming rate. An increasing number of companies arrive in the Arctic to extract oil and gas. Moreover, Russia's northern shipping route is opening up, which again accelerates pollution.
Graph of decreasing ice extent. Source: viaGood
- Why is the North Pole melting faster than the South Pole?
Both North and South Poles are covered by ice (for the moment). The Poles do not receive sufficient direct sunlight, as the sun is always low on the horizon. The South Pole is colder than the North Pole. The Antarctic is a continent surrounded by ocean, while the Arctic is an ocean surrounded by land. Climate change threatens the survival of many species, in particular those which depend on ice at the North Pole. Endangered species of wildlife in the Arctic include polar bears, reindeer, foxes, bowhead whales, beluga whales, ringed seals and Pacific walruses.
Read the Solution section!
Experts estimate that oceans could rise by as much as 23 feet in 80 years.
The Arctic is under severe threat from climate change. The coverage of sea ice has been reduced by nearly 50 % since 2000. By the summer of 2050, sea ice at the North Pole could disappear completely! Among other severe threats to Arctic wildlife, this disappearance of sea ice would lead to the death of two-thirds of the polar bear population.
Oil and gas reserves should be kept in the ground, and the use of other renewable sources of energy should become more widespread, in order to maintain the safe 2 C level of warming of the Earth. The disappearance of summer sea ice is one of the most obvious warning signs of severe climate change and will have consequences that reverberate worldwide.
Melting of sea ice is accelerating. Source: Pixabay
- Why is the Melting of Sea Ice Accelerating?
According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, the summer sea ice minimum extent has dropped to the smallest size in recorded history - to below 1.32 million square miles. As sea ice melts, it exposes the dark ocean surface. Instead of reflecting the sunlight, the ocean absorbs it. Arctic temperatures rise correspondingly as the oceans heat up.
Experts estimate that oceans could rise by as much as 23 feet by 2100, which would flood major coastal cities and submerge several island countries. This trend must be halted as a matter of extreme urgency for us all.
- Threat to Wildlife by Melting Arctic Ice
Climate change has catastrophic impacts on Arctic ecosystems and the wildlife living there. Ice-dependent species lose the sea-ice habitat they need to give birth, raise their young, hunt, rest and hide. The Arctic fox, polar bear, Pacific walrus, seals, whales, seabirds, caribou, muskox and other indigenous species are suffering a rapid decline in numbers.
- Polar Bears depend on sea ice to move around, hunt and find mates. Their food chain is affected adversely by global warming! As the sea ice decreases, many are forced to travel further in search of food.
Reindeers spotted running freely in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. Source: Unsplash
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Reindeer and Muskox numbers have fallen significantly. Warmer temperatures diminish the availability of a food supply. As herds must swim across previously frozen rivers, many young calves drown.
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Arctic Foxes have an entirely white coat to camouflage them in the snow. They roam across tundra and sea ice, face the loss of sea-ice hunting grounds and suffer increased competition for food with Red Foxes, which move northwards as temperatures increase.
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Walruses use sea ice as a platform for resting, and a place to leave young calves while they dive for food. Due to loss of sea ice, they are forced ashore, to encounter people, polar bears and other predators.
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Arctic Whales - Gray Whale, Bowhead Whale, Fin Whale and Sei Whale - are at risk from increasing offshore oil drilling and shipping activities, as more areas become ice-free. There are increased threats to them by oil spills, ship strikes and noise.
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Ocean Plankton face increasingly hostile conditions from ocean acidification.
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Seabirds, such as Red Knots, breed in the Arctic. The food supply of Red Knots has decreased as insects in the Arctic hatch earlier due to melting snow, so the birds do not have much food when they arrive.
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How much can sea levels rise?
If the Greenland ice sheet melts, sea levels will rise by at least 20 feet. However, if the Antarctic ice sheet melts, sea levels might rise by about 200 feet. The Poles are most affected by global climate change. The Antarctic Peninsula has warmed by 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1950.
A warmer Arctic accelerates the melting of Greenland’s ice sheet even faster. This ice sheet is currently 1.9 miles thick and contains enough ice to raise global sea levels by 25 feet.
The reduced sea ice and warmer ocean water affect atmospheric patterns, such as the jet stream, and lead to more extreme summer and winter weather events in the USA, Europe and Asia.
Experts say climate change is expected to increase the frequency of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, hurricanes, wildfires and flooding. This has recently been evidenced by extremely high temperatures in the USA and Europe, with unprecedented temperatures experienced in British Columbia, Canada, reaching a record 121.3 F. Europe, too, has experienced severe heatwaves in the summer of 2021, coastal fires in Turkey, Greece and Italy and rare weather events.
Decreasing ice extent in February and September. Source: viaGood
Both the thickness and extent of the summer sea ice in the Arctic have shown a dramatic decline over the past 30 years, leading to a further rise of Arctic temperatures. Recently, the Arctic sea ice has been recovering less in winter, which indicates that the underlying ocean is getting warmer.
Since 2000, sea ice at the North Pole has been reduced by nearly 50 %. By 2050, it could disappear completely.
What happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic!
Our behavior must change dramatically to keep global warming at bay.
Climate change poses a major risk to us all, with the polar regions being threatened and destabilized. The Arctic is heating up at an alarming and accelerating rate. Our behavior must change dramatically, if we are to save the rapidly melting Arctic and the world’s endangered species!
How can we all contribute to saving the Arctic?
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Reduce emissions wherever possible. Carbon dioxide emissions accelerate the melting Arctic ice. Fly or drive less, buy green energy, turn your gadgets off rather than leaving them on standby, eat less meat/ become vegetarian or vegan. When purchasing a new car, buy an electric or hybrid vehicle.
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Raise awareness of the melting Arctic to decelerate global warming and climate changes.
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Support the legal fight for protection of the Arctic. The fight for Arctic conservation is challenging, and includes many steps on the legislative level. It is necessary to enforce the respective laws.
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Help protect the Arctic wilderness. The Arctic and Antarctic are not mere barren white plains, but home to polar bears, foxes, reindeer, whales and countless other endangered species of wildlife.
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Support research to better understand the Arctic regions. We support research to better understand what the Arctic might look like in the near future and how the Arctic affects the climate worldwide. Based on this research, the best case scenarios of climate progress can be prepared.
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Help to halt oil and gas extraction, mining and drilling. With the declining ice, large oil companies are focusing on oil and gas extraction in the Arctic. These activities result in excessive environmental pollution. It is necessary to stop oil and gas drilling and to reduce the rights to mineral resources and mining.
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**Help to prevent overfishing. **Overfishing is responsible for the decline in fish populations (e.g. Atlantic Cod) and affects the food chains. With the sea ice decreasing, fishing in the Arctic is becoming an issue of increasing concern. Water temperature changes affect fish populations' distribution either directly or indirectly through the food chain.
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Support companies and politicians who are fighting for a new low-carbon future. Protecting the Arctic is a complex task, involving many entities, politicians and local organizations. We, as individuals, must support their worthy efforts.
