Ice Breaker

In the Globe and Mail article Greenland, Antarctica ice sheets shrink fast, author Seth Borenstein describes new satellite measurements scientists have recently taken of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica. These measurements are far from reassuring; they show that the rate that ice sheets in this area are melting is much quicker than scientists had anticipated. It seems that scientists did not take into account that the temperature of the water surrounding these ice sheets is high enough to aid melting. While the article explains why this is happening, it does not go into detail explaining the effects that this will have on the world. It is already well known that melting ice sheets will raise overall sea levels around the world but this article neglects to answer many of the questions that readers will inevitably have.

The article claims that the ice sheets are melting at an acceleration greater than previously thought, but does not give the reader an estimation as to how long it will take these enormous sheets to melt or how much ice has already been lost. It says that they are melting at a rate of several meters a year but this estimation isn’t really specific enough to know how long these sheets will exist. It also does not mention how this increased melting rate will change projections of sea-level rise. Though it does state that this question was not answered in the study, it is still a very important aspect to consider. Obviously this will worsen rising sea levels, but there are a number of other factors that should also be considered. For example melting of this magnitude continues in the arctic, arctic summers could be ice free by 2030. This alone would impact the many animal species and humans who inhabit the arctic. Having an ice free summer would also open many water passages that have previously been inaccessible which would make the region easily exploitable by both shipping and transportation as well as natural resource exploitation (Arctic Sea Ice Melt and Shrinking Polar Ice Sheets, 2007). The implications associated with the melting of ice sheets are obviously very severe and must be taken into account.

While the article cites recent scientific research and clearly reports the problem, it neglects to state all of the causes and any possible ways to mitigate this damage. It declares that the scientific community has obviously underestimated the melting rate of these ice sheets as well as their sensitivity. While it is obvious that ice is quite sensitive to temperature change, it does not mention any other possible factors that might contribute to this increased rate such as surrounding ocean temperatures, elevation and solar radiation. According to another article by the American Meteorological Society these factors all play a key part in the melting of ice sheets. (Arctic Sea Ice Melt and Shrinking Polar Ice Sheets, 2007).

To conclude, while this article accurately conveys the results of the study, it does not answer many important questions that the reader will undoubtably have. This problem could be easily solved by some additional research. Readers are not only interested in the fact that these events are occurring, they want to fully understand why and how it can be mitigated.

-Elisabeth Shapiro

Sources:

American Meteorological Society. (2007), Arctic Sea Ice Melt and Shrinking Polar Ice Sheets.

URL: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/10046080/Arctic-Sea-Ice-Melt-and-Shrinking-Polar-Ice-Sheets

Seth Borenstein. (September 23, 2009) Greenland, Antarctica ice sheet shrink fast.

URL: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/science/greenland-antarctica-ice-sheets-shrink-fast/article1298691/