Greenland ice loss is over 300 billion tons per year. That is not a lot, compared to Greenland's total ice mass, but the loss rate is accelerating. In 2002 Greenland ice loss was only 137 billion tons per year.
Antarctica is also losing ice. You may hear people insist the sea ice extent has been increasing, which is perfectly true, but the volume of ice continues to decrease. Imagine a person pouring a glass of water on concrete, the claiming there is more water because the water surface area is greater than it was in the glass.
All the glaciers in the Alps (Europe), Rocky Mountains & Cascades (western US), and Andes (south America) are retreating. Glaciers on isolated mountain slopes like Kilimanjaro, in Africa, are also in retreat. Glacial ice in Kamchatka is in retreat, with the exception of a few glaciers on volcanic slopes. 93% of the glaciers in the Himalayas (southwestern Asia and northern India) are in retreat. The Zemestan Glacier has lost 10% of its length in the past 40 years. A few of the inner Himalayan glaciers have not been shedding ice so rapidly. The Gangotri Glacier in India, for example, has lost only half a mile of ice in the past 30 years.
Essentially, just about everywhere in the world the ice is melting, and that ice melt is attributable to global warming. The one notable exception is in the Karakoram Range of the Himalayas, in which nearly half of the 40 glaciers there have not undergone significant retreat. Part of the reason may be that many of these are insulated by rocky overburden, slowing their rate of decline. The extreme elevation of these glaciers is another key factor.
Littering affects the Earth in many ways for example littering causes global warming. Global warming means that the earth's temperature is rising and melting the ice burgs. Another reason it is bad for the Earth is that it is ripping a hole in the Ozone layer. The Ozone layer protects us from the full power of the suns rays if it was to go we would all burn to death. Pollution is another thing. people are pouring sewage into rivers and throwing their rubbish into rivers without care. This causes all the fish in the river to die. Littering,pollution and many more destroy animals homes and kill animals.
To accurately gain information upon whether the globe truly is warming up, one must check many sources of data from a variety of sources. CO2 levels over the years can be recorded from drilling into ice, tree rings can tell us a bit about temperature over the years, the sources are quite numerous and all seem to suggest that there is a continued warming of the planet.If one example is requested, I would note the continued loss of ice at the poles. This loss of habitat and disturbance of sea currents (most notably the Gulf Stream) could spell disaster on many fronts and is one of many indications of global warming/climate change.There can be no better evidence than the temperature records themselves. The year 2010 had the warmest global average temperature on record, fractionally warmer than 2005 and 1998, but as the difference is slight, the three years are regarded as the equal hottest. The past decade was the warmest since instrumental measurement began in 1850, and the ten warmest years since 1850 have now all occurred since 1998.we have proof because as the years go on it gets hotter and hotter....Go to Discovery.com and look up global warming or videos from scientists and photographers showing the ice melting by taking pictures each day over years. View all of them. You will have your answer and proof. -RJ.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the Earth's atmosphere, contributing to global warming and climate change. Increased levels of CO2 from human activities like burning fossil fuels and deforestation are intensifying the greenhouse effect, leading to rising temperatures, melting ice caps, more extreme weather events, and ocean acidification.
Dangerous gases such as carbon dioxide and methane trap heat in the atmosphere, leading to global warming and climate change. This can result in melting ice caps, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events that disrupt ecosystems and harm wildlife. Overall, these gases contribute to the degradation of the atmosphere and the Earth's delicate balance.
Over geological time, the Earth's average temperrature has increased and decreased. Think of the 'Ice Ages' , when the Earth was much colder, with larger polar ice caps. and intervening warm periods, when the Earth was much warmer. There was no Industrial Activity or motor cars etc., to drive these changes. So it is thought that the Sun and the Earth's atitude on its spacial movement around the Sun , was the main driver for these variations. The current 'hysteria' of climate warming/change is just a natural warming. Mankind does not fully understand the larger periodical mechanics behind this process., but it happens. So , YES!!! The Earth's mean temperature does change over time.
We are causing global warming which is melting the ice.
We are causing global warming which is melting the ice.
The ice would melt
Sea levels will rise.
Yes, reductions in global snow and ice cover contribute to global warming acceleration. This is because snow and ice reflect sunlight back into space, known as the albedo effect. As snow and ice melt, they expose darker surfaces that absorb more sunlight, leading to increased warming. Additionally, melting ice contributes to sea level rise, which can further contribute to warming through feedback loops.
It provides a habitat for polar bears, an iconic creature for global warming. The ice also acts as a serious reflector of solar radiation (the albedo effect), slowing the speed of global warming.
Global warming may postpone the oncoming next ice age.
The albedo effect, characterised by changes in the reflection and absorption of sunlight, does play a small role in global warming, but requires global warming to be underway before it can play that part. As the world warms, ice caps and sea ice melt. Ice reflects much of the sun's energy back into space, but when the ice disappears the open sea and land absorb much of the sun's energy, becoming warmer. This accelerates global warming.
When sunlight strikes polar ice much of it is reflected back into space. This, called the albedo effect, slows global warming. When the ice melts the sun strikes the dark water, which absorbs heat much better
Ice melt is a consequence of global warming, not a cause of it. Though ice reflects light quite well, and as it melts, earth's albedo decreases, resulting in a feedback mechanism which further increases global warming.
Global Warming
No, but the ice caps would be affected by global warming and their loss would cause global warming to accelerate. When the ice caps melt the sea level rises causing countries to become smaller in size.