Why is the Arctic ice melting so much faster than the ice sheet in Antarctic?
2007-10-10 10:57:03 · 2 answers · asked by cs 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
The Arctic ice is sea ice, it is just a couple of feet thick and the wind and temperature can cause a rapid effect. Whereas most of the Antarctic ice is on land and is several miles thick. One big chunk of ice. Unless something causes these ice sheets to slide into the ocean, they will take a long time to melt.
As an aside, There is a big ice sheet on Greenland which is similar to the Antarctic ice sheet.
2007-10-10 11:04:41 · answer #1 · answered by Frst Grade Rocks! Ω 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because the artic is floating sea ice. The antartic has land with icepack and glaciers that take much longer to melt. Sea ice in the artic is blown south by the wind. This isn't possible on land.
2007-10-10 18:02:28 · answer #2 · answered by morris 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋