Post by Andrei Tchentchik on Aug 10, 2020 16:50:04 GMT 2
(.#A.098).- In the Canadian Arctic, 2 ice caps have completely disappeared.
In the Canadian Arctic, 2 ice caps have completely disappeared.
By: Brice Louvet, science editor
Aug 6, 2020
On recent satellite images taken by NASA, two ice caps in Nunavut, Canada, show their absence. Two other structures could also soon suffer the same fate.
About 60 years ago, two St. Patrick's Bay ice caps still licked the Hazen Plateau on Ellesmere Island. In 1959, one was spread over 7.48 km square, the other was 2.93 km square. These two structures have since borne the brunt of global warming. In 2015, they were only 5% of their height. In 2017, a study published in The Cryosphere predicted their disappearance five years later. Unfortunately, the researchers got it right.
New photographic records captured on July 14, 2020 by ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer), an imaging instrument on board Terra, a NASA satellite, attest to their absence.
The different contours of the two ice caps in St. Patrick's Bay in 1959, 2001, 2014 and 2015. Credits: The cryosphere
The left image shows the ice caps in 2015. As the right image taken on July 14, 2020 shows, they have now completely disappeared. Credit: Bruce Raup, NSIDC
Responsible global warming
“We have long known that as climate change sets in, the effects are particularly pronounced in the Arctic,” says Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), and lead author of the article published three years ago. “But the death of those two little hats that I knew so well made climate change very personal”.
When the researcher first visited these ice caps, they appeared to be a permanent feature of the landscape. Today, the researcher is saddened that "there are only a few photos and a lot of memories left."
It is indeed well documented that the Arctic is melting twice as fast as the rest of the world. Between 2000 and 2015, average temperatures on Ellesmere Island increased by 1 ° C. According to the researchers, the particularly hot summer in the region in 2015 is responsible for much of the recent melting of these two glaciers.
These two structures in St. Patrick's Bay had formed and probably reached their maximum extent during the Little Ice Age which operated between the early 14th and late 19th centuries.
The Murray and Simmons ice caps, also present on the same plateau, are located at a higher elevation. Because of this, they seem to melt at a slower rate. Researchers predict, however, that their demise is also imminent.
F I N .
In the Canadian Arctic, 2 ice caps have completely disappeared.
By: Brice Louvet, science editor
Aug 6, 2020
On recent satellite images taken by NASA, two ice caps in Nunavut, Canada, show their absence. Two other structures could also soon suffer the same fate.
About 60 years ago, two St. Patrick's Bay ice caps still licked the Hazen Plateau on Ellesmere Island. In 1959, one was spread over 7.48 km square, the other was 2.93 km square. These two structures have since borne the brunt of global warming. In 2015, they were only 5% of their height. In 2017, a study published in The Cryosphere predicted their disappearance five years later. Unfortunately, the researchers got it right.
New photographic records captured on July 14, 2020 by ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer), an imaging instrument on board Terra, a NASA satellite, attest to their absence.
The different contours of the two ice caps in St. Patrick's Bay in 1959, 2001, 2014 and 2015. Credits: The cryosphere
The left image shows the ice caps in 2015. As the right image taken on July 14, 2020 shows, they have now completely disappeared. Credit: Bruce Raup, NSIDC
Responsible global warming
“We have long known that as climate change sets in, the effects are particularly pronounced in the Arctic,” says Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), and lead author of the article published three years ago. “But the death of those two little hats that I knew so well made climate change very personal”.
When the researcher first visited these ice caps, they appeared to be a permanent feature of the landscape. Today, the researcher is saddened that "there are only a few photos and a lot of memories left."
It is indeed well documented that the Arctic is melting twice as fast as the rest of the world. Between 2000 and 2015, average temperatures on Ellesmere Island increased by 1 ° C. According to the researchers, the particularly hot summer in the region in 2015 is responsible for much of the recent melting of these two glaciers.
These two structures in St. Patrick's Bay had formed and probably reached their maximum extent during the Little Ice Age which operated between the early 14th and late 19th centuries.
The Murray and Simmons ice caps, also present on the same plateau, are located at a higher elevation. Because of this, they seem to melt at a slower rate. Researchers predict, however, that their demise is also imminent.
F I N .
