why the ice in antartica is melting rapidly?

Answer 1

Over the years, some of the gases like carbon dioxide have accumulated more than they should in the earth's atmosphere.. these gases are called green house gases and cause a effect known as green house effect....
When radiation from sun rebound from earth surface some of them are absorbed and rest escapes to space.... but these greenhouse gases absorb more than what is good for earth.. and have slowly raised the temperature.....
This effect is called global warming and is causing eccessive melting of snow in antartica.

Answer 2

Despite the glib answers here, this is not an easy one.

The average annual temperate on the antarctic plateau is -50C. In summer it reaches a balmy -30C. (http://www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/weather/climate.shtml)

Now, a global warming temperature rise of say 5C will lift this to -45C. And water freezes at 0C. So extra melting = zero.

Unfortunately, its not that simple. The antarctic - unlike the arctic - actually has a land mass under it. The ice sites on the land mass and is held in place by the coastal ice packs. Take the coastal ice packs away, and the ice slides (in the form of glaciers) off the land and to the sea.

So small changes in sea water temperature - which will affect the rate of coastal melting - can have a very big effect on the continent.

Once the ice flows into the sea it moves into warmer waters and melts even faster.

Remember, the antarctic is a true desert - there is little rainfall or snow to put the ice back.

Answer 3

Because the Earth is heating up from the inside out. The cold poles were created a long time ago by some awesome discharge event that simultaneously created our Ozone layer. This is why you always smell ozone after a lightning strike, or why you can sometimes smell the electricity in the air. It was a doozy of an event, and it's one of the reasons why our ancestors always had a craving for the good ol' days of the Golden Age and always feared the big event that would take that away.

Answer 4

the reason is the level of carbondioxide which is a green house gas is increasing due to pollution this has the property of absobing IR ray(infra red rays) this has the capacity to heat object where it falls as CO2 absorb more of these rays it become warm and hence melting occur this may be one of the reason

Answer 5

its the global warming.

even 1 or 2 degree will cause more to melt

Answer 6

i trust that each thing is accessible in cycles, inclusive of the elements. The transformations and failures were occurring perpetually. The "international Warming" idea has now been diluted, I word - now the boffins discuss "climate replace". the purely "replace" that i have spoke of is that we are had the coldest wintry climate on record the position I stay.

Answer 7

because people are using cars for transportation which give out poisonous gases that kill the ozone layer which then effects how hot or cold it is, making it very hot over antarctica, thus making the icebergs to melt.
basically >> global warming

Answer 8

Global warming, is the reason attributed but why global warming?... it's for green house effect... why green house effect? .. it's for our rapid industrial development with factories spewing green house gasses.. why rapid development?...it's for we the people of earth demand more.......
So why ice is melting?... it is because of US. U & Me...

Link to evidence of this phenomena is given below.

Answer 9

because,from air pollution and different c.f.c.'s it eats the ozone away and letting the suns rays hit the ice full force melting it. our ozone can regenerate itself in a few years if we stopped polluting today.

Answer 10

Greenhouse effect, and global warming.