My topic is climate change, specifically concentrating on Antarctica.
Current State of Climate Change in Antarctica
There has been a recent discovery that Antarctic sea ice is melting from both above and below
This discovery is what inspired me to choose this as my area of expertise. My mom was reading the newspaper on Christmas this past year and showed me an article speaking on the new findings, supporting the idea that climate change is happening more quickly than previously thought. The reason for this idea is the discovery that Antarctic sea ice is melting from both above and below. Human-induced warming of the Earth has warmed many parts of the ocean significantly. With a greater difference ebtween the cold and warm water, the pressure gradient has increased, which in turn speeds up ocean circulation, especially in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). The ACC is responsible for the precious balance in our environment and is mitigating climate change by keeping Antarctica cold. However, since warmer water rises and cool water sinks, the more mild water has been rising and actually melting Antarctica from below. It has been previously thought that Antarctica has been only melting from the air temperature increases, but it is now from sea temperature increases as well.
The melting of ice in Antarctica has effects all over the globe:
Antarctica holds enough ice to raise sea levels nearly 200 ft
In the next 30 years, seas could rise in the coastal US as much as they did in the past century -10 to 12 inches
Moderate flooding will occur 10 times more often as it does today
Ice has a higher albedo so once melted, it absorbs much more sunlight and speeds up the warming
Every 40 hours, Antarctica loses a billion metric tons of ice – at least half that loss comes from ice shelves
Collaboration and Camps
Amy Solomon, Matthew D, and Ola Persson seem to be the powerhouses of research on Climate Change in Antarctica. Matthew Newman contributed multiple times, but just with Amy Solomon. Matthew D, Ola Person, and Amy Solomon worked with one another many times, suggesting that they trust one another and have done numerous studies in this field. They seem to be the most cited and reliable researchers. Almost all of their papers have been related to Antarctic cliamte change, whether about melting sea ice, animal impacts, or ice calving. Their articles have been cited upwards of one hundred times, leading me to believe their work must be reliable and highly regarded.
Comments