Friday, November 7, 2008

Arctic ice melting faster



According to WWF observation, the Arctic’s ice may be melting faster than most climate change science has concluded. It found that ice in Greenland and across the Arctic region was retreating 'at rates significantly faster than predicted in previous expert assessments'. The report showed that ice sheet in Greenland is shrinking at a fast pace with an ice volume of about 2.9 million cubic kilometers and it could contribute much more than previously estimated to global sea-level rise during the 21st century.

The arctic warming has reduced both the area and thickness of the northern region's multi-year sea ice, making it more prone to summer thaw. Many climate change scientists have inadequately considered the drivers of such trends, such as interactions between sea ice thickness and water temperature. Last year, UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has issued reports of the recent acceleration in sea-ice retreat is not captured by most models, in the study reviewing global warming research from 2005.

A climate change adviser with WWF International's Arctic Programme, Martin Sommerkorn said that 'Our understanding of climate impacts lags behind the changes we are already seeing in the Arctic, and this is extremely dangerous, as some of these Arctic changes have the potential to substantially warm the Earth beyond what models currently forecast.

WWF said that climate change has already affected all aspects of ecology in the Arctic, including the region's oceans, sea ice, ice sheets, snow and permafrost. This climate change awareness has arise on Arctic nations - including Canada, the United States, Russia, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark, through its Greenland territory - to work together to help the region's communities adapt to the challenges ahead. The phenomena of fast-melting Arctic ice has the potential to cause coastal erosion, impact indigenous peoples' livelihoods, affect marine organisms, and make the region's mineral and other resources more accessible with new, formerly inaccessible marine routes. It could also have global effects, particularly causing rising sea levels that could threaten coastal communities from Bangladesh to the Netherlands to parts of the United States.

Because of the impact, Mr Sommerkorn said that 'We need to reduce global emissions of greenhouse gases to levels that will avoid the continued warming of the Arctic and the anticipated resulting disruption of the global climate system'. So for those who still aware with this impact, let's save the earth while we can by doing simple thing like trashing the garbage into the trash can and separated between recycled or non-recycled. Hope with this little step around your environment could reduce the global warming impact.

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