Levels of ice in the Arctic Sea continue to shrink rapidly. Scientists now suspect that 2008 will be a record year for the melting polar ice caps, surpassing even 2007’s record low point.
The National Snow and Ice Data Center in Colorado is charged with monitoring the receiving the Arctic ice situation. In the center’s most recent report, the researchers take a somber tone, suggesting that there is little that can be done at this point to alter the shrinking levels of Arctic ice.
Researcher Mark Serreze says that by 2030, there will likely be no summer ice at all in the Arctic. Serreze believes we have passed a tipping point and that Arctic ice will recede in ever greater quantities over the next few years, effectively eliminating the North Pole during the summer months.
What effect this “tipping point” will have on nature and wildlife remains to be seen, but it is already clear that certain arctic animals are facing extinction because of the receding ice, including the Arctic polar bear.
Polar bears are migratory animals who swim from one ice shelf to another during mating season. With the ice shelves receding at record levels, more and more of the bears are unable to bridge the distance between the ice, and wind up drowning in the frigid Arctic water.
Polar bears are just one obvious example of nature being disturbed by the changes to the ice cap. The greatest threat to mankind may come from the disappearance of much smaller creatures, such as certain forms of Arctic algae and other simple life that thrives in the North Pole.
Losing even one of these seemingly unimportant species could have a greater effect on human life than many people realize. The balance of life in the seas is actually quite fragile, and dramatic changes such as the rising Arctic temperature could end up having serious repercussions for humankind.
Of course, the big questions here are whether human industry is responsible for the rising arctic temperatures, and if so, is there anything we can do about it? While scientists seem to disagree on the likelihood of humans being responsible for global warming, the majority do believe there is plenty we can do about it.
Even if the receding ice caps can be attributed to the normal give-and-take of Earth weather patterns, researchers are confident that global warming is playing a significant role in speeding up the process, and causing the changes to occur at an unnatural pace.
But one thing that is no longer being debated is that Arctic sea ice is definitely shrinking. Parents with young children may want to take them to see the Arctic ice now– by the time they’re grown, it will likely be history.
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