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The Arctic.
CC22 Summit
11 March 2022
As submerged permafrost thaws and disrupts the environment, giant "sinkholes" – one of which could consume a whole city block of six-story buildings – are developing along the Arctic seafloor.
As the Arctic is warming faster than any region on earth, climate change is causing the sea ice to retreat. Giving way to occurrences like these.
Melting snow and ice exposes a darker surface and increases the amount of solar energy absorbed in these areas. Explaining why it is warming three times faster.
The extent of sea ice cover has shrunk dramatically over the last 30 years, and the ice is melting faster than climate models can predict. During the summer of 2020, the Wandel Sea in the eastern part of the Last Ice Area lost half of its overlaying ice, bringing coverage to its lowest level since records began.The ice-free Arctic Ocean in summer may become reality before the middle of this century. Several regions of the Greenland ice cap have lost mass over the last two decades, and the loss is spreading to other parts of this massive ice sheet. The rate is rising. Surface melting and glacier calving each contribute roughly half of the loss, and both are accelerating. The glaciers are anticipated to continue losing mass — anything from 15 to 85 percent by the end of the century. They also contribute highly to rising sea levels. The average sea level is expected to continue to rise, and models predict an increase of 0.53-0.97 meters by 2100.
The northern hemisphere's snow cover will continue to shrink for the rest of the century, maybe by up to 25% depending on future temperatures. Less snow means a longer growing season, which may result in vegetation changes, such as more shrubs and less lichen. This means that some animals will have less food and others will have more. As a result, changes in the snow season have an impact on the entire ecosystem. In addition, the thawing of permafrost is increasing, and permafrost thawing releases greenhouse gases that are currently "frozen" in the ground. It affects the local hydrological cycle. The water drains away, little lakes and tarns frequently dry out.
Not to mention the loss of freshwater has effects even outside of the arctic. Proving to be an even more detrimental issue in the realm of global warming.
Citations:
Bryner, Jeanna. “Sinkholes as Big as a Skyscraper and as Wide as a City Street Open up in the Arctic Seafloor.” Livescience.com, Live Science, 17 Mar. 2022, www.livescience.com/sinkholes-opening-arctic-seafloor. Accessed 22 Mar. 2022.
“Climate Change in the Arctic.” Npolar.no, 2013, www.npolar.no/en/themes/climate-change-in-the-arctic/#toggle-id-8. Accessed 22 Mar. 2022.