Melting Antarctic ice could trigger a chain reaction

(ORDO NEWS) — Exploration of the Antarctic ice sheet is essential to track the planet’s climatic processes. More recently, scientists have found that the land, which was under melting ice, is also heating up and contributing to the accelerated melting of Antarctica. Such a chain reaction can turn into a global catastrophe.

Reported by Nature Geoscience.

Scientists in “laboratory” conditions simulated a situation in which the climate and CO2 levels are similar to those expected at the end of the 21st century. Researchers say that the planet was in similar conditions about 13-17 million years ago.

It turned out that the Antarctic ice sheet is more unstable than scientists thought. As the ice melts, the ground below it begins to reflect less and less heat. The soils begin to heat up and speed up the thawing process. This could affect global climate change in the coming years.

The warming situation could change the direction of the Antarctic winds. This will increase the amount of rainfall in Antarctica. As a result, a large amount of fresh water will drain into the sea. And since salt and fresh water have different densities, non-salt water will flood the surfaces of the oceans. As a result, the Earth‘s orbit may shift even more, and the climate will become colder.

Today, scientists consider it their main task to stop the melting of Antarctica in order to avoid climatic disasters.

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