Ocean Warming
Posted by Ethan on Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Under: Global Warming
Hey Neergs--
Don't miss our Neerg News page today where we feature an article, Live Climate Science from the High Arctic, by Beth Kapusta from the Huff Post. The accompanying video (which can be seen below) with Dr. Simon Boxall is mind-blowing. Dr. Boxall says that our oceans cover 70 percent of our planet and are affected by climate change the most. The polar ice cap is melting quickly, and we are seeing the lowest ice-cover ever on human record. What does this mean? Well, the melting polar ice cap is not just affecting the arctic, but is warming our entire planet. Dr. Boxall says that as the arctic warms, the lack of new ice formation will also impact ocean currents and how warm currents are drawn north. This will result in a dramatic change--a cooler climate in Northwest Europe. Even Siberia will be warmer! As the tundra melts, it will release a greenhouse gas called Methane, further increasing the rate of climate change. And as the polar ice cap melts, our planet loses it's ability to reflect the sun's energy. Instead of reflecting 60-70% of the sun's energy, the melting cap can only reflect 4%. This is called negative feedback, and it is alarming many scientists. This model was based on where scientists thought we would be in 2070---60 years from now. Unfortunately, we're already there! This melting is happening at a much faster rate than expected. If you find this science as fascinating as I do, check out Cape Farewell's 2010 Arctic Expediton Blog.
Don't miss our Neerg News page today where we feature an article, Live Climate Science from the High Arctic, by Beth Kapusta from the Huff Post. The accompanying video (which can be seen below) with Dr. Simon Boxall is mind-blowing. Dr. Boxall says that our oceans cover 70 percent of our planet and are affected by climate change the most. The polar ice cap is melting quickly, and we are seeing the lowest ice-cover ever on human record. What does this mean? Well, the melting polar ice cap is not just affecting the arctic, but is warming our entire planet. Dr. Boxall says that as the arctic warms, the lack of new ice formation will also impact ocean currents and how warm currents are drawn north. This will result in a dramatic change--a cooler climate in Northwest Europe. Even Siberia will be warmer! As the tundra melts, it will release a greenhouse gas called Methane, further increasing the rate of climate change. And as the polar ice cap melts, our planet loses it's ability to reflect the sun's energy. Instead of reflecting 60-70% of the sun's energy, the melting cap can only reflect 4%. This is called negative feedback, and it is alarming many scientists. This model was based on where scientists thought we would be in 2070---60 years from now. Unfortunately, we're already there! This melting is happening at a much faster rate than expected. If you find this science as fascinating as I do, check out Cape Farewell's 2010 Arctic Expediton Blog.
In : Global Warming