Well, if nothing changes in the future, this would be the post, nearly done! I want to use this last post to share something I have learnt and thought while writing these posts.This blog is about ice melting over the world, and can be splinted into three major parts, which are sea ice, glaciers and ice sheets. Under each major topic, contents generally follows the order of current melting, future projections and major effects. While writing the blogs, I recognized that ice, particularly in the northern hemisphere, has melt significantly during the last few decades, and is likely to continue melting over this century.
Arctic sea ice might reach near ice free status in the second half of this century! Global climate, ocean circulation and local species have already affected by the decline of sea ice, and the situations could delegate in the future. Meanwhile, losing ice from glaciers is also a serous issue over the world. In mountain regions, melted water forms glacier lakes which have potential to cause local flood, threatening the survival of local population. Once a glacier has totally melt, drought and water shortage will become problems, particularly for Asian region as many major rivers originated from glaciers. Melting from glaciers and ice sheets also contribute to sea level rise, though not much up till now, it does have potential to rise rapidly and submerge many coastal areas.
The changes are dominantly caused by global warming. Humans are to blame for the current global warming due to GHGs emissions since industrial revolution. The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has exceeded 400 ppm. The last year, 2016, becomes the warmest year in history, beyond our prediction. Even if we stopped all emission immediately, co2 would remain in the atmosphere and kept warming the Earth.
Paris Agreement was signed to control the temperature rise within 2 C. This is a significant development in resisting global warming with governments involved globally. However, uncertainty still exist in the future, for instance, the attitude from the US government.
What we can do is to save energy and resources to reduce GHGs emissions in over daily life. The Earth is not only the home to us, but also the home to all livings. We share the Earth, and we should not damage their habitats or threaten their survivals to meet our development. We also have the responsibility to provide an Earth suitable to survive to future generations.
