<
https://theconversation.com/completely-unexpected-antarctic-sea-ice-may-be-in-terminal-decline-due-to-rising-southern-ocean-salinity-259743>
"The ocean around Antarctica is rapidly getting saltier at the same time as sea
ice is retreating at a record pace. Since 2015, the frozen continent has lost
sea ice similar to the size of Greenland. That ice hasn’t returned, marking the
largest global environmental change during the past decade.
This finding caught us off guard – melting ice typically makes the ocean
fresher. But new satellite data shows the opposite is happening, and that’s a
big problem. Saltier water at the ocean surface behaves differently than
fresher seawater by drawing up heat from the deep ocean and making it harder
for sea ice to regrow.
The loss of Antarctic sea ice has global consequences. Less sea ice means less
habitat for penguins and other ice-dwelling species. More of the heat stored in
the ocean is released into the atmosphere when ice melts, increasing the number
and intensity of storms and accelerating global warming. This brings heatwaves
on land and melts even more of the Antarctic ice sheet, which raises sea levels
globally.
Our new study has revealed that the Southern Ocean is changing, but in a
different way to what we expected. We may have passed a tipping point and
entered a new state defined by persistent sea ice decline, sustained by a newly
discovered feedback loop."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
