How has climate change affected Antarctica?

Answer 1

many countries are moving to electrical cars

like India that has decided to use 100% electric vehicles by 2030

wich means there are chances that they will remove all the petrol bunks and make you force change to electric cars

Please be contributors forf

Saving Antartica

Answer 2

Antarctica is the coldest place on our planet, far colder than the Arctic, so changes from global warming will be slower to happen and difficult to measure.

However, there are changes happening. Ice is melting at the edges and snow is building up in the centre!

Warmer air means more moisture in the atmosphere, and this is falling as snow on the centre of the continent. This snow doesn't melt, but builds up as ice.

Approximately 100 cubic kilometers (24 cubic miles) of ice melts in Antarctica every year (NASA's Grace satellite).

East Antarctica is a high, cold, desert plateau. Satellite data show a little mass loss at the edges, but this is counterbalanced by a buildup of snow in the centre. Not much is happening in East Antarctica.

West Antarctica is a series of islands covered with ice, with most of the ice resting on the floor of the ocean (1.7 km or more than 1 mile below sea level in places). The 'grounding line' is where the front of the glacier touches the sea bed. These grounding lines are retreating, which means that the glaciers are losing mass. When this happens, when the underwater part of the glacier melts, the top becomes an ice shelf. An ice shelf is very vulnerable to a warming ocean and the Antarctic ice shelves have been collapsing.

In 2002 the Larsen-B ice shelf (the size of Rhode Island) collapsed and was caught on satellite cameras. The 12,000-year-old ice shelf crumbled in three weeks. After the collapse, the glaciers behind the ice shelf sped up their movement into the ocean.

NASA's satellite measurements show that Antarctica has been losing more than 100 cubic kilometers (24 cubic miles) of ice each year since 2002. The rate of melting is also speeding up.

Answer 3

Phytoplankton (flora, algae) grow under the ice shelves of Antarctica. Warmer water is affecting the growth of phytoplanktons. Krill (fauna, zooplankton) need them to survive. These two are vital links in the food chain of the Antarctic. Whales live on krill. Penguins need krill and the fish that feed on krill. Seals and sea birds need the fish. Climate change is damaging the food chain in Antarctica and threatening the lives of the animals there.