Climate Changes of Antarctica

Description The Antarctica is located in the South Pole of the Earth. The Antarctica covers an area of approximately 14 million kilometres. The Antarctica is the coldest, driest, windiest, and most isolated continent on Earth. The extreme climate limits the presence and activities of humans in Antarctica. The persistent cold, the limited precipitation, the frequent overcast skies, the severe winds, and the succession of storms over the ocean and coastal areas help explain why Antarctica is the only continent that has never had a native human population. An ice sheet covers all but 2.4 per cent of Antarctica's 14 million square kilometres. At its thickest point the ice sheet is 4,776 meters deep. It averages 2,160 meters thick, making Antarctica the highest continent. This ice is 90 percent of all of the world's ice, and it is 70 percent of all the world's fresh water. Antarctica is the coldest continent. The world's record low temperature of -89.2 degrees Celsius was recorded there. The mean annual temperature of the interior is -57 degrees Celsius. The coast is warmer. Monthly means at McMurdo Station range from 28 degrees Celsius in August to -3 degrees Celsius in January. Along the Antarctic Peninsula, temperatures as high as 15 degrees Celsius have been recorded.

Climate Changes of Antarctica The Antarctic Peninsula has been warming rapidly for at least a half-century, and continental West Antarctica has been getting steadily hotter for 30 years or more. This phenomenon is caused by the warming of the whole Earth. Since the early 20th century, Earth's mean surface temperature has increased by about 0.8 C (1.4 F). The Antarctic Peninsula is particularly sensitive to small rises in the annual average temperature, this has increased by nearly 3C in the region in the last 50 years, this is about 10 times faster than the average in the rest of the world. Global warming is primarily caused by the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases produced by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. The warming of the Antarctic poses a serious threat to the Earth as the melting of ice shelves causes the sea level to rise.

As a result of global warming, the melting of the polar ice caps dramatically increases. These new estimates suggest that the total annual loss from Antarctica since 1993 is around 100 billion tons of ice per year; equivalent to 0.25 mm/year of global sea level rise. Ice loss has been greatest along coastal sectors of the Antarctic Peninsula and West Antarctica. However, ice thickening further inland and over most of East Antarctica may have partially offset this loss. All of the available estimates, however, show that the loss of mass in West Antarctica is greater than any added mass in East Antarctica. The main ice covered landmass is Antarctica at the South Pole, with about 90 percent of the world's ice (and 70 percent of its fresh water). Antarctica is covered with ice an average of 2,133 meters (7,000 feet) thick. If all of the Antarctic ice melted, sea levels around the world would rise about 61 meters (200 feet). The rising of the sea level cause by the melting of ice caps and expanding of sea water will put cities near coastal lines in serious danger. On average, sea-levels rise naturally by about 2 mm/year. Globally there has been a total rise of about 0.1 to 0.2 m in the last 100 years. According to measurements from tide gauges the average rise in sea-level around the Australian coast is 1.2 mm/year. The most recent IPCC assessment based on the most gloomy scenario puts predictions of 21st century sea level rise at between 26 and 59cm (10-23 inches).

A warming trend during the last few decades in the Antarctic Peninsula has already forced penguin populations to migrate south and perhaps diminished the abundance of krill that are at the base of the massive food chain at the bottom of the world. The combination of climate change, increased human fishing and rival krill predators significantly influence krills availability. Focusing on populations of both Adelie and Chinstrap penguin species. The two penguin species have declined by more than 50% in the South Shetland Islands region, over the course of the study. The study suggests that penguin populations more closely track patterns in krill abundance over time. Penguin populations are likely to continue their decline, so long as climate change and krill populations continue their course of change. This is most alarming for Chinstrap penguins, which breed almost exclusively around the South Shetland Islands. Because they have such a limited range, the combination of diminishing ice due to climate change, and decreasing krill populations in the South Shetlands is especially concerning to Chinstraps, compared to other penguin species which aggregate in multiple regions.

Adelie penguin

Chinstrap penguin