Who says climate change is not real? Recently, the temperature outside Detroit hit 95 degrees Fahrenheit, an unusual high that underscores the reality of climate change. Another sign of climate change comes from CNN. They are reporting that climate change is melting the Antarctic ice sheet in a new, worrying way. The melting ice sheets will cause a rise in sea levels threatening coastal communities around the world.
The new study suggests current projections may significantly underestimate the problem. Alex Bradley, an ice dynamics researcher at British Antarctic Survey (BAS) told CNN, “…our projections of sea level rise might be significant underestimates.” The current models used to project future sea level rise have not taken into account melting ice sheets. Hence the current projections could be significantly underestimating the problem.
If all the ice on land has melted and drained into the sea.
What is happening to the ice sheets
Scientists from the BAS found that warm ocean water is seeping beneath the ice sheet at the “grounding line.” The grounding line is where ice meets the seabed. This seeping at the grounding line is causing accelerated melting and will lead to a tipping point. A tipping point is where small changes cause irreversible effects.
The melting works like this, relatively warm ocean water opens cavities in the ice. The cavities allows more water to seep in. This causes more melting and larger cavities to form. The pattern repeats until the glacier has completely melted. A small increase in ocean temperatures can have a very big impact on the amount of melting, the study found. As climate change heats up the oceans, the process speeds up.
“You get this kind of runaway feedback,” Alex Bradley explained. He is an ice dynamics researcher at BAS and author of the paper. It behaves like a tipping point, he told CNN. “… where you can have a very sudden shift in how much melting is happening in these places.”
This tipping point would play out through a faster flow of ice into the oceans. This process is not currently included in models of future sea level rise. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is particularly vulnerable to climate change. It is vulnerable because the land under it is below sea level and slopes downward. When warm water gets underneath, it can melt very fast. “It can have a runaway process … ” Eric Wolff, a glaciologist at the University of Cambridge said.
Impact of climate change
The West Antarctic Ice Sheet holds enough water to raise sea levels by more than 16 feet. CNN predicts that this rise will cause devastating flooding in coastal towns and cities around the world. The BBC estimates that nearly half the world’s population live within 120 mile of a coastline. A sea level rise of 10 feet or more would inundate many of the world’s major cities, including London, New York and Shanghai. Other cites threatened include:
| Alexandria, Egypt | 5,696,000 |
| Bangkok, Thailand | 11,234,000 |
| Boston | 4,367,000 |
| Dhaka, Bangladesh | 23,936,000 |
| Houston | 6,802,000 |
| Jakarta, Indonesia | 11,436,000 |
| Lagos, Nigeria | 16,536,000 |
| Miami | 6,317,000 |
| New Orleans | 1,021,000 |
| Rotterdam, The Netherlands | 1,022,000 |
| Venice, Italy | 642,000 |
| Virginia Beach, Virginia | 1,496,000 |
| World Economic Forum | Macrotrends |
CNN calculated that the Antarctic ice sheet already sheds an average of 150 billion metric tons of ice every year. All of the the Antarctic ice sheet holds enough water to raise global sea levels by around 190 feet (around 58 meters).
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The rapid melting of the Antarctic ice sheet and the potential for significant sea level rise highlight the urgent need to address climate change. If we do not take immediate and effective action, coastal communities and major cities around the world will face devastating consequences. Combating climate change is essential not only to protect our environment but also to safeguard our future. By reducing greenhouse gas emissions and implementing sustainable practices, we can help mitigate these impacts and ensure a livable planet for generations to come.
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Ralph Bach has been in IT for a while and has blogged from the Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that has caught my attention since 2005. You can follow me on Facebook. Email the Bach Seat here.
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