Why we have to focus on the glacier melting?
1. Global Climate Change
The dramatic melt-off of Artic sea ice affect not only the regional climate near the artic but also global climate system. The melting arctic sea ice can trigger a domino effect leading to increased odds of severe winter weather outbreaks in the Northern Hemisphere’s middle latitudes. Actually, In recent years, Europe and Alaska experienced record-breaking winter storms, and the global average temperature during March 2012 was cooler than any other March since 1999. The main reason for this is weakened jet stream caused by melting glaciers.
A warmer Earth increases the melting of glaciers during summer, exposing more dark ocean water to incoming sunlight. This causes increased absorption of solar radiation and excess summertime heating of the ocean. And further, it accelerates the ice melt. The excess heat is released to the atmosphere, especially during the autumn, decreasing the temperature and atmospheric pressure gradients between the Arctic and middle latitudes. A diminished latitudinal pressure gradient is linked to a weakening of the winds associated with the jet stream. In response the jet stream appears to be moving northward and its wind speed slowing. In turn, this may be slowing the westward progression of waves in the jet stream, which cause weather variation along their westward path as they fluctuate north and south.
In other words, since the polar vortex normally retains the cold Arctic air masses up above the Arctic Circle, its weakening allows the cold air to invade lower latitudes. Therefore, the slowing of the jet stream could cause weather patterns to remain in place for longer, resulting in prolonged heat waves or cold snaps.
2. Threatened Wildlife
The chief threat to the polar bear is the loss of its sea ice habitat due to global warming. The polar bear is actually a marine mammal that spends far more time at sea than it does on land. In other words, It is on the Arctic ice that the polar bear makes its living, which is why melting glaciers are such a serious threats to its well-being. Because of the melting glaciers, the sea ice platforms moving farther apart. Then the polar bears’ swimming conditions become dangerous. It makes the possibility of drowning of them increase.
Because of the melting glaciers, the sea ice platforms moving farther apart. Then the polar bears’ swimming conditions become dangerous. It makes the possibility of drowning of them increase.
Furthermore, exacerbating the problems of the loss of hunting areas, it is expected that the shrinking polar ice cap will also cause a decline in polar bears’ prey, seals. The reduction in ice platforms near productive areas for the fish that the seals eat affects their nutritional status and reproduction rates. The polar bear is the proverbial "canary in the coal mine" of the serious threat global warming poses to wildlife species around the world, unless we take immediate and significant action to reduce global warming pollution.
Recent Global Effort to
Halt Ice Melt-Climate Change Mitigation
in the Paris Agreement
In December, the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 21, negotiated the Paris Agreement in Paris, France. With this global agreement negotiated, both developed and developing countries are now forced to participate in the reduction of greenhouse gas emission.
Though the document focuses primarily on the details of the plans and actions through which countries will reduce their emissions, it does include some elements of relevance to glaciers. Of these elements, the most important is the Agreement’s core, the global commitment to reducing emissions and to limiting global warming. These offer some protection to glaciers, since glacier retreat is so tightly tied to temperature increases, which in turn are linked to greenhouse gas concentrations.
In addition, it provides a more stringent temperature target than those included in decisions at the earlier COPs. Where these earlier documents spoke of limiting warming to 2 °C, the Paris Agreement calls for “ holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C.” Though the difference may seem small, it could make a significant difference for glaciers.
There are several global efforts to conserve the glacier. we have to not only attention on that, but do personal effort. Especially like, reducing our CO2 emissions. This means everyone making the effort to turn off lights, recycle, walk to work, take public transport, and so on. This will make the world a better place for all of us.