The new report by Italian intelligence services also focuses on climate change and its impacts on migration and domestic security.
Arctic, the last and oldest ice breaks for the first time due to high temperatures
The oldest and thickest sea ice in the Arctic has broken up for the first time on record. The event has been caused by the unusual heat wave that hit the area this summer.
In northern Greenland, the thickest and oldest sea ice has started to break up. It’s the first time on record in an area that has always remained compacted throughout the seasons, even in the warmer summer months.
Polarstern enters uncharted #Arctic waters in what once was thick perennial sea ice. Follow progress at https://t.co/BXplVLWjDj @AWI_Media pic.twitter.com/Kueb5QxDTr
— Mark Drinkwater (@kryosat) 22 agosto 2018
Climate chance is most likely the cause
UK newspaper The Guardian has reported the news, underlying that it represents a scary event. According to scientists, the phenomenon has been caused by an unprecedented heat wave that has hit the northern hemisphere and that was driven by climate change. Between February and August, numerous abnormal temperature peaks have been registered in the Arctic regions. This would have made sea ice more fragile.
The finishing blow has been probably given by warm winds that blew in the area. “Almost all of the ice to the north of Greenland is quite shattered and broken up and therefore more mobile,” Ruth Mottram of the Danish Meteorological Institute told the Guardian. “Open water off the north coast of Greenland is unusual,” she warns.
The oldest sea ice in the Arctic could now melt faster
Experts tweeted a series of animated graphs that clearly show the ongoing phenomenon: warmer seas (in blue) enter in between Greenland coasts and the sea ice (yellow/orange).
A small animation from @DTUSpace
showing our combined #Sentinel1 and #AMSR2 images and our @CMEMS_EU #Sentinel1 1-day ice drift vectors. All from https://t.co/KMsYanQEs4 pic.twitter.com/6ctc0JzgpQ— Leif Toudal (@elmltp) 13 agosto 2018
This area is (was) called “the last ice area” because it is considered resistant to the effects of a warmer climate, at least up to now. The ice in this area is particularly thick thanks to a current coming from Siberia. But now the situation could even get worse because the fracture could make penetrate warmer waters, accelerating the process, as Thomas Lavergne, a scientist at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, explained. “The thick old sea ice will have been pushed away from the coast, to an area where it will melt more easily”.
Featured image: a photo of sea ice in Greenland taken in 2013
Siamo anche su WhatsApp. Segui il canale ufficiale LifeGate per restare aggiornata, aggiornato sulle ultime notizie e sulle nostre attività.
Quest'opera è distribuita con Licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 4.0 Internazionale.
From Verona to Taormina, from Bosa to Ravello: a small guide for a sustainable slow tourism.
In Europe, damages have exceeded €800 billion in 40 years. Without adaptation, we risk losing 7 per cent of GDP.
The oil giant TotalEnergies must defend itself against accusations of failing to take into account the climate consequences resulting from the use of its products.
US President Donald Trump has lifted fishing restrictions in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument.
From Australia to the United States, from Chile to Mozambique, and from Russia to Argentina, many countries are grappling with extreme weather conditions.
A report by Ember explains that in 2025 electricity generation from renewables (solar, wind and hydropower) surpassed that from fossil fuel sources.
The Tyler Prize, considered the “Nobel Prize for the Environment,” has been awarded to Toby Kiers, an American biologist working in Amsterdam.
Belgium is one of the countries most exposed to climate change. Dune–dikes are a solution to curb sea-level rise.