What Environmental Change Was Associated With The Disappearance Of The Glaciers?
Glaciers, the great guardians of the stability of the planet's climate
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The melting of the glaciers, a phenomenon that intensified in the 20th century, is leaving our planet iceless. Human activity is the main culprit in the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The sea level and global stability depend on how these cracking masses of recrystallized snow evolve.
Glacial melting has accelerated over the past three decades.
The Earth's glaciers take been silently retreating for more than one-half a century as climate change inexorably marches on. There is no place on the planet — except south-east asia — capable of withstanding the furnishings of a miracle that has melted more than ix.6 billion tonnes of glacial ice in the globe since 1961, co-ordinate to a 2019 satellite study by the University of Zurich (Switzerland), and threatens to evaporate over a third of all glaciers by 2100, according to the World Wild animals Fund.
WHAT IS A GLACIER AND HOW DOES IT Course?
These massive blocks of moving ice arise equally snow accumulated in common cold places compacts and recrystallizes, as is the case, for example, in mountain and polar glaciers, which should not be confused with the gigantic Arctic plates. Glaciers are classified according to their morphology — ice fields, cirque glaciers, valley glaciers, etc. — the climate — polar, tropical or temperate — and their thermal conditions — cold, hot or polythermal base —.
The formation of a glacier takes millennia, and its size varies depending on the amount of ice it retains throughout its lifespan. The behaviour of these masses is reminiscent of that of the rivers they feed during thaws, and their speed depends on friction and the slope of the terrain over which they motility. In full, glaciers encompass 10% of the Globe'southward surface and, along with the water ice caps, account for nearly 70% of the world's fresh h2o.
WHY DO GLACIERS Cook? CAUSES
The rising temperature of the Earth has, without doubt, been responsible for melting glaciers throughout history. Today, the speed with which climate modify is progressing might return them extinct in tape fourth dimension. Let us take a detailed look at the causes backside glacial melting:
- COtwo emissions: the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) produced by manufacture, ship, deforestation and burning fossil fuels, amidst other human activities, warm the planet and crusade glaciers to melt.
- Sea warming: oceans absorb 90% of the Earth's warmth, and this fact affects the melting of marine glaciers, which are generally located near the poles and on the coasts of Alaska (United States).
Run across INFOGRAPHIC: A glacier'due south life wheel [PDF]
EFECTS OF MELTING GLACIERS
In the same written report, the University of Zurich revealed that glacial melting has accelerated over the final three decades. This loss of ice has already reached 335 billion tonnes per twelvemonth, which is 30% of the electric current rate of ocean growth. The main consequences of deglaciation are:
Sea level rise
Glacial melting has contributed to raising sea levels by 2.7 centimeters since 1961. Furthermore, the world'southward glaciers contain enough water ice — most 170,000 cubic kilometres — to enhance sea levels by nearly half a metre.
Impact on the climate
Glacial thawing at the poles is slowing the oceanic currents, a phenomenon related to altering the global climate and a succession of increasingly extreme weather events throughout the globe.
Disappearance of species
Glacial melting volition as well crusade the extinction of numerous species, as glaciers are the natural habitat of a number of animals, both terrestrial and aquatic.
Less fresh water
The disappearance of glaciers also ways less water for consumption past the population, a lower hydroelectric energy generation capacity, and less water bachelor for irrigation.
SOLUTIONS TO Avoid MELTING GLACIERS
Glaciologists believe that, despite the massive water ice loss, we exercise still have time to save the glaciers from their predicted disappearance. Here are some ideas and proposals for how we can help attain this goal:
Stop climatic change
In order to curtail climate change and relieve the glaciers, information technology is indispensable that global CO2 emissions be reduced by 45 % over the adjacent decade, and that they autumn to zero afterwards 2050.
Slow downwardly their erosion
The scientific journal Nature suggested building a 100-metre-long dam in front of the Jakobshavn glacier (Greenland), the worst affected past Chill melting, to comprise its erosion.
Combine bogus icebergs
Indonesian architect Faris Rajak Kotahatuhaha won an award for his project Refreeze the Arctic, which consists of collecting water from melted glaciers, desalinating it and refreezing it to create large hexagonal ice blocks. Thanks to their shape, these icebergs could then exist combined to create frozen masses.
Increase their thickness
The Academy of Arizona proposed a seemingly simple solution: manufacture more than ice. Their proposal consists of collecting ice from below the glacier through pumps driven by wind power to spread it over the upper water ice caps, and then that information technology will freeze, thus strengthening the consistency.
Source: https://www.iberdrola.com/sustainability/melting-glaciers-causes-effects-solutions
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