Climate change threatens the safety and integrity of the Arctic’s climate, ecosystems, and biodiversity. Sea ice has begun to decline in quality and quantity causing Arctic warming to occur almost twice as fast as anywhere else in the world, with more severe consequences. The volume of sea ice that forms every year is decreasing, and the ice that forms is becoming thinner.
Ice has a high albedo, which means it reflects a lot of solar radiation back into space and does not absorb heat. Warmer temperatures melt sea ice, exposing darker surfaces with a lower albedo causing more heat to be absorbed and more ice to melt. Ice melt is endangering species whose habitats are dependent on sea ice, including polar bears, walruses, and seals.
Increased C02 in the atmosphere has been directly linked to increased C02 in the ocean, and poses a threat to Arctic sea life. Marine Arctic animals have spent millenia adapting to unique Arctic climates; small changes in temperature or acidification have severe consequences. Ocean acidification is disrupting food webs, biochemical composition of marine animals, and ocean circulation patterns.
Climate change effects in the Arctic will open up direct shipping routes and facilitate development in the Arctic. As countries rush to stake a claim in the Arctic, there will be an increased risk of oil spills, environmental damage, and ice melt.
Vocabulary
Biodiversity: variety of species/ life in an environment
Albedo: the amount of solar radiation reflected by a surface
High albedo: more solar radiation is reflected back into space than absorbed (lighter surfaces like snow)
Low albedo: more solar radiation is absorbed than reflected back into space (darker surfaces like dirt or water)
Further Reading
Fu, Q. (2015). Radiation Transfer in the Atmosphere: Radiation, Solar. In: Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences (Second Edition) [North, G.R., Pyle, J., Zhang, F., eds.], Academic Press, p. 1-4. An overview of the physical properties of solar electromagnetic radiation and the effect of this radiation on the Earth’s global climate.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Science Mission Directorate (2010). Tour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum. Available from: https://science.nasa.gov/ems The landing webpage for NASA’s series of informational articles on electromagnetic radiation, shortwave and longwave radiation, and the greenhouse effect. Web links on page lead to articles and visualizations about the dynamics discussed in this section.
Bell, R. E., & Seroussi, H. (2020). History, mass loss, structure, and dynamic behavior of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Science, 367(6484), 1321-1325. Detailed review paper describes the deep time and more recent history of the Antarctic ice sheet including when the past the ice sheet was absent and current rates of change
References
“The Arctic & Global Warming.” Greenpeace USA, www.greenpeace.org/usa/arctic/issues/global-warming/#:~:text=Melting%20ice%20speeds%20up%20climate,world%20warmer%20as%20a%20result.
“Climate Change and the Arctic.” Marine Mammal Commission, 2 May 2019, www.mmc.gov/priority-topics/arctic/climate-change/.Wendisch, Manfred. “Understanding Causes and Effects of Rapid Warming in the Arctic.” Eos, 6 July 2017, eos.org/science-updates/understanding-causes-and-effects-of-rapid-warming-in-the-arctic.