The ice floe loves it! What are the impacts for us?
The bank is melting, that’s undeniable. Moreover, during the austral summer which has just ended, it broke a sad melting record. Even if the Arctic or the Antarctic seem very far away, the impacts concern everyone. Florent Favier takes stock.
Melting sea ice: consequences?
It is already important to understand the issues. In fact, the less sea ice there is, the less solar radiation is reflected. So when the bank melts, water replaces it. Water does not reflect solar radiation like sea ice, on the contrary it absorbs heat. Result: the ocean is warming up.
A warmer ocean weakens and melts glaciers on the seabed.
The Glacier of the Apocalypse
Today there are very precise studies and measures to assess the impact of the melting of the bank. Scientists have published for about ten years “the Glacier of the apocalypse” in Antarctica. This glacier, whose real name is Thwaites, is 600 km long by 120 wide with a thickness of up to 3 km of ice. The pillars of this beautiful baby, which anchor it to the underwater rock, are melting. Hot water currents are responsible for its melting and weakening.
When this glacier detaches from the continent, it will be responsible for a direct increase of 60 cm in all the seas of the globe.
South Pole / North Pole
The Antarctic continent is also called the South Pole. It is 25 times bigger than France and it is the coldest place on the planet. It is inhabited, only scientists and scholars work there.
The Arctic, or the North Pole, is a huge ice floe. The Arctic spans northern America, Europe, Asia (Siberia) and Greenland, although its precise boundaries remain unclear.
Florent Favier is present every Monday on Radio Monaco. Find all his chronicles right here: