The Arctic cooling power has decreased by 25% and is on track to decrease by 50% by 2050! Should We Be Afraid?
A report by Sci Tech Daily indicates that new research from the University of Michigan has found that the Arctic's cooling capacity has decreased by about 25% since 1980 due to the reduction in sea ice and its reflectivity. This decline has also contributed to a global reduction in cooling power of up to 15%.
Researchers utilized satellite data on cloud cover and the solar radiation reflected by sea ice from 1980 to 2023, discovering that the decrease in the cooling power of sea ice is roughly double the decrease in the annual average area of sea ice in both the Arctic and Antarctic. This reduction in sea ice cooling power aligns with the upper range of predictions from climate models.
Mark Flanner, a professor of climate and space sciences and engineering and the lead author of the study published in Geophysical Research Letters, stated, "Typically, we run climate simulations for a full century to understand how melting sea ice impacts the climate. Now, with a sufficiently long record of satellite data, we can measure the sea ice climate feedback directly."
The Arctic is warming four times as fast as the rest of the planet and could be ice-free in summer by the 2030s. The loss of sea ice would have global and dangerous consequences, including changes in atmospheric circulation and fundamental shifts in ocean life.
The Arctic sea ice plays a crucial role in Earth's climate by reflecting sunlight back into space, thus helping to mitigate global warming. Unlike most surfaces that absorb and radiate heat, ice does not contribute to the warming effect caused by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. As greenhouse gas concentrations rise, the Earth's emitted heat is increasingly absorbed, leading to climate change.
Reducing the global ice cover alters the amount of sunlight reflected back into space. With less ice in the Arctic, more dark ocean water is exposed, which absorbs more energy. This phenomenon, known as albedo feedback, is analogous to choosing between wearing white or black clothes in the summer — dark colors retain more heat. Climate change predictions take albedo feedback into account, of course. Until now, though, there wasn't a way to separate out its direct impacts.
The Earth has warmed by approximately 1.4°C since the onset of the industrial revolution. This increase in temperature has not been evenly distributed, with certain areas experiencing accelerated warming. The Arctic is a prime example, having warmed nearly four times more rapidly than the global average over the last 43 years. Consequently, the Arctic's average temperature is now about 3°C higher than in 1980.
Due to global warming, the melting of polar and glacial ice is leading to a redistribution of water from the poles towards the equator. This redistribution of mass towards the Earth's middle is causing a deceleration in its rotation, consequently resulting in longer days. A recent study provides additional evidence of this phenomenon and indicates that the alterations in the Earth's ice cover have been significant enough to impact the planet's axis, which is the central invisible line around which it spins. These changes are creating feedback effects below the surface, influencing the movement of fluids within the Earth's molten core.
The results were recently released in two publications, Nature Geoscience and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, within the past week July 14th 2024.
If the Earth's rotation on its axis continues to slow down, these are the effects we should expect to observe:
One side of the Earth would be in constant sunlight, while the other side would be in perpetual darkness.
Extreme temperature changes would occur.
Weather patterns would be disrupted.
The day-night cycle would be eliminated.
Tectonic plate boundaries would be under stress, increasing the likelihood of earthquakes.
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