Melting Ice caps – Erakina

Introduction

The balance of life and nature around us is a non-stoppable cycle that runs day to day in our life. The stability of the cycle is all in the hands of people, whether it’s nature or a person’s life. Likewise, today, we are going to discuss the purpose of icecaps and how melting affects people’s lives.

Ice Caps

Ice caps are large areas covered in ice that form a thick layer of Ice sheets and some icebergs. A glacier is formed by constant snowfall and by this, the density increases and builds up more and more which finally becomes a glacier. This takes around a year to form. The Antarctic and Greenland are the places that produce more ice sheets, glaciers, and icebergs. When the ice sheets form a firm layer, they become even thicker and act like a normal land surface. Some of the ice sheets are used as an airstrip for aircraft for landing purposes. 

These thick ice sheets, glaciers, and cold waters become a home for animals like Polar Bears, Walrus, Penguins, Whales, Greenland Sharks, etc. Due to its cold climate, it is not habitable for humans, but scientists come here for a period of time to do experiments here. These glaciers contain the world’s pure form of water that is drinkable.

Melting glaciers

The glaciers that were formed billions of years ago started melting. People wonder if an iceberg melting makes a big deal? But it is a big deal. The glaciers melt into water and it mixes with the sea which increases the sea level more than the land. The melting of glaciers is because of the phenomenon of Global warming. The increase of the industrial revolution, the increase in greenhouse gases, deforestation, etc. are the reasons for global warming.

The sun’s heat reaches earth and touches the ground and gets out from the earth’s atmosphere. This is the natural cycle. The ice sheets act as a surface that pushes the sun’s heat from the ground to the earth’s atmosphere which exits the earth. But due to the greenhouse gases, this phenomenon is affected. The greenhouse gases stop the heat from getting out of the earth’s atmosphere and traps it inside. By this, the earth is getting warmer and warmer each day and this changes the climate. As the earth’s temperature increases, the glaciers start to melt. The melted glacier turns into water and mixes in oceans saline water. With this slow-melting increase, the rise of sea level also increases. 

The rise of sea level causes water to increase which will sink the land surface and the buildings with it. The first affected place will be the people who live on the coastal side of the sea. The melting of glaciers increases the sea level and by this, people lose their habitat and want to migrate to other places. By migrating to another country, the need for resources increases and habitat needs will also increase. For this, people expand their living by cutting down trees which will cause even more warming of the earth, lack of oxygen and loss of animal habitats. As a result, people suffer from the economic crisis and many problems will arise. Animals will lose habitat and enter human civilization which causes chaos in the city.

These sudden changes in sea level cause different phenomena like storms, cyclones, increase in rainfall, etc. Scientists discover that the melting of ice will increase the sea level by 20 feet in 2100. But if we still don’t stop and find a way for global warming, this phenomenon continues. If all the glaciers melt, there will be a huge loss of population, extinction of species, and losing the earth to water. The planet will become a habitat for only water and some water species. So, we need to find a way to stop this phenomenon or else the future generation of mankind will become extinct like dinosaurs.