What are the impacts of Global Warming on the Artic and Antarctica?

Answer 1

The Arctic is seeing the most warming on the planet. The ice cap is seriously decreasing. Data here:

http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM2feb07.pdf

Pictures all over the web. Example (takes a while to load):

http://www.ucar.edu/news/releases/2006/arctic.shtml

and (click on the picture):

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2006-107

Antarctica is seeing the least warming. Data also in the report above. Still, some "ice shelves" have cracked away from the continent and drifted off.

Answer 2

As Carbon Dioxide levels increase on the planet, the temperature is increasing. The decrease in foilage (like forests) is result in less CO2 being absorbed, hence more in the atmosphere. The CO2 is acting like a shield in the atmosphere that is preventing the suns rays from escaping when they bounce off of the earths surface. Since the Sun's rays are being reflected back to the earth, the earth's temperature is rising.

As the temperature rises, even just one degree or so on average, there are ice sheets that are beginning to melt. Greenland, the Arctic, and Antarctic are all huge sheets of ice that are beginning to melt. There are a number of effects from this melting.
- As the ice melts, more water will fill the oceans. This could result in a rise in Ocean levels of up to 20 feet, though it likely would be more like 5-6 feet.
- Much of the melting ice is the result of freshwater snowfall and not frozen ocean water. The mix of a large amount of freshwater into the ocean will have a dramatic affect on the chemical makeup of the oceans, and saltwater environments will have a lower salt content. The fish and plants that thrive in the saltwater environments will be affected.
- The ice caps currently reflect sunlight. The oceans currently absorb sunlight. If the ice caps melt, less sunlight will be reflected and more will be absorbed which will accellerate the rate of the heat increase on the planet.
- Finally, if huge ice sheets in the Arctic or on Greenland melt and lower the water temperature in the North Atlantic, it will prevent the Gulf Stream (the warm waters that flow north from the Gulf of Mexico) from flowing as far north. When this happens, the waters in the North Atlantic will cool, and northern countries will experience a cooling period. So, despite the global warm-up, Northern Europe and Eastern Canada could experience extreme cold temperatures.

Currently, the ice sheets on the Arctic and Antarctic are beginning to melt on the surface and form pools of water on the ice. These pools are working their way down through the ice packs until they reach solid land. The water is not refreezing, but is forming a layer of water between the land and ice. This water is acting as a lubricant, and causing more and more ice to slide from the land into the seas.

99% of scientists believe in global warming, though there is a small percentage of scientists who believe that it is not caused by human activity. The President and his cabinet have agreed that Global Warming is real, and although Al Gore is a spokesman for the issue, he did not create the theory or perform the experiments. That work has been done by geologists for years.

Answer 3

Global warming will lead to melting of ice in the North Pole, resulting in increase of the sea water level, and thus leads to drowning of countries nationwide, like Shanghai, Florida, and India.

If you wanted a better reference, you can watch the documentary film 'An Inconvenient Truth' by Al Gore which features global warming impacts and to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide.

Answer 4

Im sorry but all people who think global warming is real should be taught that there is no such thing. there is more ice in the artic circle now then there was 15 years ago.


P.s. Al gore is an idiot

Answer 5

heyy mimi
global warming results in the rising of temperature of the earths atmosphere bcoz of the carbodioxide trapped by the atmosphere. thus as it says a rise in the earths temp will result in the meltin of the polar ice caps and the vast fields of ice in arctic and antarctica.....this will cause floods and a gr88 damage to the earth natural set up..

Answer 6

If we continue to burn fuel like it's nothing, the O-Zone layer will tear and the sun's rays will melt the Arctic/Antarctica. That will also result in the whole earth flooding.