What Would Happen If the Ice Melted? (The Polar Regions)

Hi Friend! Today is another marine ecosystem blog! We are talking all about the polar regions (Antarctica and the Arctic) and how they affect climate change.

Many people don’t usually think of polar regions when you think of important marine ecosystems. Perhaps that is because it may seem like there is not a lot of life in these regions or that it wouldn’t affect us too badly. Well, you’ll be surprised by what I find out in my research on this topic.

What is the difference?

It is probably a good idea to discuss the difference between these polar regions before we continue on this topic. So right off the bat, we know that they are geographically different. The Arctic is at the top of the earth and Antarctica is at the bottom. The Arctic and Antarctic are also different structurally. The arctic is actually an ocean covered by a thin layer of ice that is surrounded by land, while Antarctica is a continent covered by thick ice caps surrounded by sea ice and the southern ocean.

Their differences are pretty clear but the key thing in both places is the importance of the sea ice.

What would happen if the ice melted?

The Arctic and Antarctic seem like a rugged, desolate, wintery world. Upon seeing these environments you would likely first notice all of the ice or in more recent instances the lack of it. Sea ice is very important. Because of its brightness, it reflects 50-70% of sunlight back to space, this helps our planet from warming. In recent years ice cover has declined dramatically, especially in the Arctic. This decline means that instead of bright sea ice what is left is dark ocean water. Instead of reflecting it absorbs 90% of sunlight accelerating the warming of the earth.

These polar regions are also important because what happens here doesn’t stay here it affects other parts. If this warming continues it could affect the ocean conveyor belt that gives us our different currents. This conveyor belt keeps everything circulating but warming it could disrupt this process. The water in these polar regions is typically non-salty and if melted and dumped into other currents, that are filled with salty water, that would change the way the current works. I’ll leave a youtube video here that does a great job of explaining this.

If the ice melts it would also increase ocean sea levels to rise. This means that those living in coastal areas would have to move further inland. We already see these effects when hurricanes happen and many lose homes and even lives. With many people who live on the coast a couple of feet of increase in sea level would be devastating.

So it's pretty clear the melting sea ice in these polar regions could really harm the way the world works. Now that we understand why this would be bad we need to address things that can be done to turn back the clock on the melting ice.

What can be done?

It is pretty apparent that the warming of the planet has made it harder for the ice sheets to stay intact. The first thing that can be done is to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere. This means we would need to reduce the amount of fossil fuels extracted and used. We would have to change to electric cars instead of gas-dependent cars. Perhaps you could walk or take a bike to work?

We also need to control methane production which is largely associated with agriculture. Cows for example are one of the leading groups that emit methane into the atmosphere when they fart or burp. I know kind of funny isn’t it but really it's no joking matter. There are companies such as Symbrosia that are tackling this very problem. They realize that people are not likely going to give up eating burgers or steaks so they had to work around that. Instead, they are creating cattle feed that includes red algae that minimize the amount of burp and farts cows produce. This is not only helpful for the environment but it is also very nutritious to the cows.

Protecting wildlife

Remember how I pictured the polar regions in the beginning: rugged, desolate, wintery world. Well, that is not a clear picture of this environment. It is actually full of life. In these cold frigid waters, you find tiny animals like krill and plankton that feed larger animals like various species of whales (Beluga and Narwhal). You also find Polar bears, Walrus, Arctic Fox, Arctic Hare, Snowy owls, and so many other animals.

Working Together

When the ice melts these animals are being displaced because their environment is literally melting away. Therefore we need to work together to protect them as well as ourselves. That is why I want to encourage you to sign this petition to call on CCAMLR (Commission On The Conservation of Antarctic Maring Living Resources) to create 3 MPAs (Marine Protected Areas). You can also reshare my post on Instagram or Facebook with the #callonCCAMLR and #theoceansnarrative.

Also please do let me know what is your favorite polar animal? Friends, will you join me in the fight to make the ocean’s story heard?