Science

Massive loss of Antarctic sea ice threatens marine life

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Sea ice in the Weddell Sea has reduced by one third over the last five years
Susie Grant
Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) need sea ice to breed
Richard Burt
Sea ice in the Weddell Sea has reduced by one third over the last five years
Susie Grant

An international team of scientists has found that the summer sea ice in the Weddell Sea off the coast of Antarctica is diminishing at a dramatic rate. Since 2015, the ice cover has decreased by one million km² (386,000 mi²) and could pose a problem for local marine life.

Antarctica is famous as an icebound continent covered with glaciers that are miles deep in some places. However, especially at sea, this ice is far from static. It flows, breaks up, shrinks, and grows with the seasons in a very complex way that involves much more than snowfalls or changes in temperature.

One case in point is the Weddell Sea, where researchers from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the Indian National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Nanjing University, and Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, have been studying satellite records of sea ice extent and weather analyses going back to the late 1970s in an effort to understand why the summer sea ice has decreased by a third in five years.

They found that the Weddell Sea was subjected to a number of severe summer storms in 2016 and 2017. When such storms occur in both the Arctic and the Antarctic, they can break up pack ice and drive the resulting floes, causing them to melt faster. However, the team also found that an area of open water, or a polynya, appeared – something that hasn't occurred in almost 50 years.

Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) need sea ice to breed
Richard Burt

"Antarctic sea ice continues to surprise us," says Professor John Turner, a climate scientist at the British Antarctic Survey. "In contrast to the Arctic, sea ice around the Antarctic had been increasing in extent since the 1970s, but then rapidly decreased to record low levels, with the greatest decline in the Weddell Sea. In summer, this area now has a third less sea ice, which will have implications for ocean circulation and the marine wildlife of the region that depend on it for their survival."

According to the team, the winter sea ice doubles the size of Antarctica, covering a sea area of 18 million km² (6.9 million mi²) by late September. Most of this melts in the austral summer, except for the Weddell Sea, much of which remains frozen over. This changed in December 2016 when intense storms drew in warm air, contributing to the meltdown. The open water then absorbed sunlight, warming it and prolonging the effect, including the maintenance of a polynya formed by the strong winds.

The concern is that this loss of sea ice will have a major impact on the Weddell Sea ecosystem. Many of the plants and animals are adapted to live in the presence of sea ice, and the loss could affect the entire food chain, from plankton and krill up to seals, penguins, and whales. This could also be a long-term problem because it's still unknown whether this loss will reverse, as has happened in the past, or is the start of a long-term decline.

"The dramatic decline in sea ice observed in the Weddell Sea is likely to have significant impacts on the way the entire marine ecosystem functions," says Professor Eugene Murphy, ecologist from the British Antarctic Survey. "Understanding these wider consequences is of paramount importance, especially if the decline in ice extent continues."

The findings are published in Geophysical Research Letters.

Source: BSA

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4 comments
Kpar
Well, at least they didn't blame the USA for "global warming"...
Nelson Hyde Chick
None of the ecological crisis facing this planet can be alleviated as long as humanity is allowed to grow by billions more because if over a twenty year period through green tech you make a humanity activity 25% more efficient per capita if on account of bringing people out of poverty and population rise the per capita increases by 50% it is still a loss.
bwana4swahili
"... this ice is far from static. It flows, breaks up, shrinks, and grows with the seasons in a very complex way that involves much more than snowfalls or changes in temperature."

Seems to conflict with the title! Wait until next year and it may be a gain instead of a loss...
ljaques
Yeah, since the loss can be attributed to severe storms 4 years ago, this must mean Globular Swarming is at fault. OHMYGODWEREALLGONNADIEAGAINAGAIN. // They just pulled this same evil crap with the Larsen C Ice Shelf. OMG, it all-of-a-sudden just broke off! Then when you trace it, the crack started in 2013 and the shelf didn't break off until 2017. Imagine the poor drowning polar bears, as Algore screamed about in his inconveniently fraudulent movie a decade and a half ago! Is it any wonder that people are Climate Deniers, with all these exaggerations, falsities, and flat out lies being floated by =most= of the Climate Alarmists? Feh.