In climate change and its negative effects on the planet in general, the behavior of the great ice masses of the Antarctic continent plays a fundamental role. One of the main reasons for climate change is the increase in the greenhouse effect caused by excessive pollution from human economic activities.
The scientific community established as the limit of ascent of average temperatures of the planet an increase of two degrees. From there, changes in our atmosphere and forms of life would already be irreversible and unpredictable. That is why more than 100 countries have joined in the fight against climate change and have ratified the Paris Agreement.
Studies published in the journal Nature indicate that the ice sheets of East Antarctica appear to be the most vulnerable areas before the effects of climate change. This causes great uncertainty about the rise in sea level that will be experienced in the coming years as the ice caps in that area are melting at a faster rate than expected.
The fact that these areas are melting earlier than expected suggests that they are more sensitive to climate change. A group of experts in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany analyzed data obtained from the field, climate models and satellite images. Thanks to these data, the reason why this area is more vulnerable is known. Must be to the strong winds that carry the hot air and that move the snow from its surface. Although despite this, experts cannot predict well the behavior that this area will have with respect to the contribution to the increase of the sea in Antarctica.
The displacement of snow on the surface by the hot, dry wind creates a more temperate local microclimate where a small number of hot spots appear, including a mysterious crater located a few years ago on the King Baudouin ice shelf. Back then when the crater was discovered it was thought to be the result of a meteorite impact. But today it is already known that it is a collapsed lake with a mill inside. This mill is a hole that pours water into the ocean.
In turn, research carried out by expert groups has discovered numerous lakes with liquid water hidden under the surface of the ice. Some of these lakes are several kilometers in size. This may be evidence that the effects of climate change are increasing in these vulnerable areas as the water that melts in the crater increases enormously from one year to the next.
Another study from universities in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Germany and the United States has studied the behavior and importance of the Antarctic ice sheets. It is concluded that they play a fundamental role in regional and local climate changes, being able to explain why sea ice in the southern hemisphere it has continued to rise, despite the warming experienced in the rest of the world.
Many of the paleoclimatic models that attempt to explain changes in climate throughout history have not taken into account the climatic variability that has been imprinted on paleoclimatic records, which is why they are somewhat incomplete.
"Most of the icebergs that break off the Antarctic ice sheet roam this region as a result of atmospheric and oceanic circulation", says in a statement Michael Weber, paleoclimatologist at the University of Cambridge (UK).
Scientists confirm that the periods that have occurred throughout the history of alternation between losses and increase in ice mass have had a “cascading effect”Especially the climate system. That is, changes in the climate that have occurred for decades can have a considerable impact on the extensive ice sheet of Antarctica and that may continue to increase and the effects of climate change continue to accentuate.