Decreasing Ice and Its Impact: Arctic

• 20 Oct 2021

Why in News

According to a recent study, if carbon emissions continue at current levels, summer ice in the arctic will disappear by 2100 and, along with it, creatures such as seals and polar bears.

• The Arctic sea ice reached its minimum extent, coming in at 4.72 million square miles. It is the 12^th lowest on record and the record minimum melting of the ice occurred in 2012. 

Key Points

• About the Study:
  
  • Coverage:
    
    • The study covers a 1 million-sq km region north of Greenland and the coasts of the Canadian Archipelago, where sea ice has traditionally been thickest round the year, and thus likely to be most resilient.
  • Two Scenarios:
    
    • Optimistic\Low Emissions (if carbon emissions are brought in check): Under this scenario, some summer ice could persist indefinitely.
    • Pessimistic\High Emissions (if emissions continue as they are): Under this scenario, summer ice would disappear by the end of the century.
      
      • Ice from even the central Arctic will decrease by mid-century, and will no longer endure through the year.
      • Locally formed summer ice will persist in what is known as the Last Ice Area, but will now be only a metre thick.
• Implications:
  
  • Low-emissions Scenario:
    
    • At least some seals, bears and other creatures may survive.
      
      • These species currently exist under similar summer conditions along western Alaska and parts of Hudson Bay.
  • Higher-Emissions Scenario:
    
    • By 2100, even the locally formed ice will disappear in summer.
    • With no summer ice anywhere, there will be no ice-dependent ecosystems.

Arctic

• The Arctic is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. Land within the Arctic region has seasonally varying snow and ice cover.
• It consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Alaska (United States), Canada, Finland, Greenland (Denmark), Iceland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden.
  
  • Since 2013, India has had observer status in the Arctic Council, which is the predominant inter-governmental forum for cooperation on the environmental and development aspects of the Arctic.

Sea Ice

• About:
  
  • Sea ice is frozen seawater that floats on the ocean surface. It covers about 7% of the Earth's surface and about 12% of the world's oceans..
  • This floating ice has a profound influence on the polar environment, influencing ocean circulation, weather, and regional climate.

Interesting Fact

• About:
  
  • Penguins live in Antarctica (to the south), and polar bears live in the Arctic (to the north).
  • While they inhabit similar polar habitats with lots of snow and ice, they have never lived together.
• Reasons for No Polar Bear in Antarctica:
  
  • The main reasons there are no polar bears in Antarctica are evolution, location and climate.
    • Bears evolved on the planet after Antarctica broke away (Plate Tectonics) from the other continents, and after that they had no easy way of getting there.
• Reasons for No Penguins in Arctic:
  • In the North Pole, predators such as polar bears and arctic foxes would limit their survival.
  • There is no water in the north pole for them to hunt because the ice is so thick.
    
    • Even if there was a hole in the ice, how would the penguin get back up if they can't find the hole they went down in.
  • Penguins are predominately shore birds and thus do not venture far into the ocean.
  • In addition, migrating through warmer waters to reach the northern hemisphere is almost impossible for penguins and could prove fatal.

Source: IE