The Big ThawEssay Preview: The Big ThawReport this essayThe Big ThawThis article is about the melting ice sheets across the world. According to the author these ice sheets are melting because of human interactions in the environments and they are melting at a much quicker rate than previously predicted. Greenlands ice sheet is melting even quicker than previously modeled. Scientists had modeled out supposed rates of ice sheet melting and it seemed to indicate that there would only be less than a foot of sea level rise due to melting over the next century, but they now realize that these predictions were not entirely accurate. Because of what scientists call “feedback” the ice sheets are melting even quicker due to this process. Feedback is caused by the melting snow and ice uncovering darker earth below leading to the ground heating up and causing the snow to melt quicker. Usually the white snow reflects the suns energy keeping melting low but with the dark rocks below exposed it causes the ground to be heated up causing rapid melting.
Most scientists believe that the Antarctic ice is safer than the Greenland ice sheet and thus will have less melting. Antarctica is located on its own in the ocean and does not receive direct sunlight, so there will be no heating from the sun or nearby landmasses. But instead the real threat lies in the warmer ocean water that flows underneath the ice sheet. On the west side of Antarctica lies an ice shelf that has broken off and fallen into the ocean, but even with this its rate of decay is less than any other glaciers or ice sheets around the world. Scientists are afraid that this is just the start though, because even though data says that Antarctica is relatively safe from melting, the same data also said that Greenland would be safe. So scientists are unsure of Antarcticas exact future, but for now all data points to it being relatively safe from melting.
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The Antarctic ice would help ice sheet melt much faster and produce substantial sea level rise. But as we watch the global temperature trends continue to shift, the possibility that Greenland is far more dangerous for this purpose is much closer to zero than we originally thought, so it becomes more difficult to predict how long such a short time will persist, especially in very cold, relatively unmoored regions. The most important potential outcome for us today is climate change.
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Scientists say that for many years the Antarctic ice sheet has suffered severe damage. Most recently there was a long-term buildup of melt in what we now call the North Pole which is the southernmost point in North America. This is a place called Ovechlin Glacier which is about two miles from our own Antarctic coastline. Because of the large-scale Antarctic melt, the North Pole has a permanent effect on the area around Antarctica and, if such a melt happens, there will be no major loss of life on the continent. The Antarctic continent is likely to be in a period of rapid sea level rise (which would likely occur on an average of every 20 years or so), and there is a lot more melting in the next few years than we expected.
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