15 July 2009 - Petermann
Glacier, Greenland — Arctic ice is melting
at an unprecedented rate. As scientists
on board the Arctic Sunrise gather
more data showing the urgency of the situation,
world leaders stay inactive.
For the past two weeks,
scientists and crew from the Arctic Sunrise
have been busy gathering data, collecting
samples and setting up cameras to record
the break-up of the Petermann glacier, one
of Greenland's largest. A large crack has
been forming for the past few years, and
a massive piece of the glacier is expected
to break off soon.
50 cubic meters per
second
At 82 degrees North,
far from any inhabited area, the impact
we have on our environment is sadly evident.
The data gathered so far by the on-board
scientists is grim. 27 kilometers away from
the sea, on the glacier, a large river has
formed. The scientists estimate it runs
at 50 cubic meters per second – you could
fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in less
than a minute at that rate. This river feeds
a large and deep melting whirlpool. Measurements
there have shown that at around 60 meters
depth, the salinity of the water rises -
indicating that warm ocean currents from
further south in the Atlantic are accelerating
the ice melt at a rate much faster than
on the surface.
Last year, a 37 kilometer
square ice island broke off. This year,
the far end of the glacier has already broken
away, but much more is expected.
When this new ice island
escapes and slips out to sea, it means that
more of the 'grounded' or land-based part
of the glacier could slip into the sea water
and become part of the floating tongue -
the end of the glacier that lies on the
sea. This has implications for both global
sea level rise, as well for the Greenland
ice sheet itself, best explained by the
'champagne cork' analogy– if the deterioration
of Greenland's glaciers continues, it could
open the way for a larger release of frozen
fresh water, from the vast ice sheet that
covers most of Greenland, into the ocean
– thereby contributing to a major rise in
sea levels.
Unique environment
Polar bears, seals,
icebergs, are all marks of a unique environment
endangered by unchecked greenhouse gas emissions.
As climate conditions change in the North,
it also means life gets a lot harder for
the local Inuit population. Their lifestyle
and food sources are extremely dependent
on the presence of ice. As the species they
normally hunt migrate further North, they
cannot hunt anymore. The Arctic environment
is extremely sensitive to changes.
Ice free Arctic
Bad news is coming from
other sources as well. A recent NASA study
has shown that the ice cap is not only getting
smaller, it’s getting thinner and younger.
Sea ice has dramatically thinned between
2004 and 2008. Old ice (over 2 years old)
takes longer to melt, and is also much harder
to replace. As permanent ice decreases,
we are looking at ice-free summers in the
Arctic as early as 2030.
They say you can't be
too thin or too young, but this unfortunately
doesn't apply to the Arctic sea ice. Polar
bears are the first to suffer from it, but
many other species could be affected as
well.
Action, not words
World leaders have committed
to limit global temperature rise below 2
degrees at the recent G8 meeting, but have
not indicated how we will achieve this.
Strong emission cuts are needed if we want
to prevent runaway global warming.
