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What About Global Warming Is Associated With Melting the Polar Ice?

Global warming is the rising temperatures of the Earth's atmosphere and oceans. It is ongoing and has the capacity to wipe out the Arctic shelf if it is not controlled. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was created in 1998 to observe and report on the latest in the global warming trend. The scientists involved in the IPCC have reported that carbon dioxide is the main culprit for most of the Arctic's warming. Emissions of carbon dioxide and other harmful gasses have gone up by 6 million metric tons since 1990.

Temperatures
- The temperatures in the polar caps are rising slowly, almost twice as fast as anywhere else in the world. These rising temperatures are caused by fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas which are high in carbon dioxide. The more fuel that is burned, the more that gets trapped by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. It also traps the heat inside the Earth's atmosphere from the thick build up.
Melting Glaciers and Ice Caps
- Ice in the Arctic declined more than 30 percent from 1979 to 2010. Studies conducted by the National Snow and Ice Data Center in May 2011 state that larger ice masses are much thinner and melting faster since May 2007, which was when the ice extent was at it's lowest on record. The Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, one of the largest in the Arctic, began cracking after 3,000 years in existence. As of 2002, it has cracked all the way through and now is breaking off into pieces. The pieces as of 2011 have mostly deteriorated and have melted into the Arctic. Snow and ice form a protective layer that cools the Arctic; when the Earth warms up it beings to absorb more sunlight when the protective layer begins to melt. Because of this, some animals such as the polar bear are being greatly affected by global warming. Their habitat is being eliminated and they have nowhere to go.
Sea Levels
- Sea levels are steadily rising, stemming from the melting polar ice. Around 20 billion tons of water from the ice has melted into the ocean causing the seas levels to rise. Cities that are close to sea level could be affected by coastal flooding, contamination of freshwater supplies and erosion.
Weather Patterns
- Warmer arctic and melting polar ice could begin to affect the United States weather patterns by 2100 some scientists say. This could lead to warmer weather that could hinder the growth of crops and food many farmers need for income. Warmer winters do not help grains that need freezing phases. On the reverse side, hotter summers could cause less moisture in the soil for certain crops to grow.

Nature