Effects of Global Warming on Animals in the North Pole - Essay Example

?The effects of global warming on the animals in the North Pole In the past decade, the exponential rise in surface temperature of the earth and the increase in the global sea level has been a major aspect of climate change. This has grabbed the attention and efficiently attracted both researchers and policy makers in recent times. The earth’s atmosphere creates a natural greenhouse effect; this efficiently results in increasing the surface temperature of the earth, than it would have been otherwise. It is essentially evident that life is a vital part of the earth’s ecosystem system and all living things significantly influence the resultant composition of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This statement is significant as every living thing, undergoes the process of “inhaling” and “exhaling” carbon dioxide and oxygen, thereby resulting in a chemical balance in the earth’s atmosphere. Even a wide variety of human activities, which primarily include the burning of fossil fuels, industrial activities and the cutting down of forest for agricultural purposes and urbanization, are potentially increasing the volume of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, thereby upsetting this atmospheric chemical balance. The details of our complex climate systems are not sufficiently known to facilitate us in the prediction of the precise consequences of global warming in our planet. Our ability to accurately measure the human influence on global climate variation is essentially limited. The forecasted signals are still rising from the phenomenon of variability in climate and the concerned uncertainties. These include the magnitudes and patterns of prolong natural variability and the evolving patterns through times; and responses to changes in the concentrations of greenhouse gases and aerosols. However, it is an essential fact to be noted that, not everyone agrees that the surface temperature of the earth is on the increase. Seldom people realize that if global warming is real, it is the human activities that are mainly responsible to it. Also, not all accept that climate change is bad. Thus, skeptics and opponents of global warming do not see the need to take measures to slow down or reverse global warming and climate change (Aizebeokhai). Global warming had significantly impacted the climate of the North Pole, which implies the Arctic region. Scenario of global warming in the Arctic Circle The Arctic region comprises of the area that is north of the Arctic Circle (66°34’N), a latitude which is barely 600km from the Shetland Islands. The Arctic Circle covers an area that is approximately 6% of the Earth’s surface, and is populated by almost 4 million humans, which includes indigenous people who have been inhabitants of the Arctic since the past 10,000 years. At the centre are the Arctic Ocean, which partly encloses the five coastal states of Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia, and the United States of America. During the past five decades, the average annual temperature in the Arctic Circle has significantly increased by upto 3oC. It has been presumed that depending on the local areas and the carbon emissions in the future, the average annual temperature of the Arctic Circle will increase a further 2-9oC in the present year. The fact to be notified is significantly more than the average rise of annual temperature globally, which shows a rise of 1.8 - 3.4°C. This significant rise in the temperature levels has inflicted global warming in the North Pole, which will also essentially feedback into enhanced global warming mainly due to the melting of ice and permafrost thaw. The degree of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean varies seasonally, portraying greatest in March and at the end of winter, while lowest in September at the end of summer. The analysis of the data of the past 3 decades which were obtained from the views of the satellites shows a significant decline in the sea ice. This decline was notified as beyond the natural variations, averaging 11.7% a decade in summer and 2.7% during the winter. It was acknowledged that the sea ice was smallest during the September of 2007 and 2008 since the satellite analysis started in 1979. The decline in the sea ice rate is moving at a faster pace than the models predicted by the scientists. Also at the same time the ice is getting younger and thinner. From 1981 to 2000, multiyear ice made up on average 30% of winter sea ice cover. In March 2009, at the start of the summer melt season, only 10% of Arctic sea ice was more than 2 years old (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology). Effect on the Arctic animals The Arctic Circle or the North Pole is a prolific, life-filled part of the earth that is the home to some of the world’s few remaining immaculate ecosystems. The Bowhead and the beluga whales swim ancient migration routes; rich feeding grounds sustain Pacific walruses and finback, grey, minks, humpback and killer whales. The Polar bears base their life cycles on the Arctic ice. There are millions of birds who migrate to the Arctic Circle, namely the Arctic tern and red-throated loon pave their way to the Arctic Circle during the breeding season. The scientists and the researchers are in a dilemma about the possibility of the survival of the Arctic animals. The question that is essentially to be answered is “if Arctic animals can adapt to the dramatic loss of sea ice, which provides essential habitat to ringed, spotted, bearded, and ribbon seals and walruses, among others?” (Oceanconservancy, 2) It is essentially acknowledged that when the change in climate affects one species, the whole food web gets affected simultaneously. Even the marine algae and amphipods depend on ice, and they form the pedestal of an exceedingly productive food chain. An example of a food web can be formulated as, Polar bears feeds on seals, seals eat invertebrates and fish, and they in turn feed on the smallest life forms. Significant changes in the climate caused by rising temperatures have deep impacts on the animals at the top of the food chain (Oceanconservancy, 2, 3). Effect on bears Scientists are in a dilemma on the existence of polar bears in the future years as it is getting intensely tough for the polar bears to hunt for food, as the sea ice is shrinking. The polar bears use the ice in order to breed and rest, and also as a platform using which they can hunt for survival. Rising temperature signifies that the ice will retreat earlier in the year, this result s in limited access to seals, which is a primary source of food for the polar bears. The changing climate also shortens the hunting season for the bears; as a result they are unable to collect sufficient resources in their reserves. Also, the scientists are concerned about the rising sea level which increases the chances of drowning in the context of polar bears as they have cover large distances by swimming. The fading sheets of ice widen the gap between their place of hunting and the place where they live (Kqed). Effect on walruses The life of walruses is also in an essential dilemma due to the effects of global warming. Adult walruses have a habitat in which they consume almost 200 pounds of clams in a day. For this the walruses need to swim and often dive in the sea in search of that mass amount of food. The female and the young walruses practiced a resting habit on the ice in between their dives. In the recent ears, due to the fast decline in the sea ice layer have forced the walruses to swim long distances as the pack ice has retreated north of their shallow feeding grounds. This long swimming process essentially exhausts the walruses, which also prohibits the older walruses from hunting. Scientists are yet to find a solution to this problem. The calves are in with a possibility of getting detached from their mothers, as the mothers are forging in open water. This leaves the calves vulnerable to the surrounding predators (Kqed). Effects on Arctic foxes In case of the Arctic foxes, temperature change has not only brought a warmer but also significantly amplified the competition for survival. The Arctic foxes are left fighting for territory and food with their rival’s red foxes, a species from the south who have migrated to the north due to the changing climatic conditions. The main drawback in terms of food for the Arctic foxes is the fact that their main consumption is based on lemmings, whose population has shown a significant decline due to the changing climate (Kqed). Effect on whales For beluga whales, climate change had significantly affected the availability and distribution of their main food source, fish. Fast melting ice makes Arctic waters more accessible to humans. This might result in making the belugas more exposed to increased shipping traffic, and vulnerable to pollution. Most of these predators play an essential part in the food chain of the Arctic, and therefore are decisive to the ecosystem. With more predictions of how global warming affects the Arctic ecosystem, one can essentially devise new conservation strategies that may mitigate the negative effects on these animals (Kqed). Difficulties in predicting, “whether the animals in the Arctic region can “quickly” adapt to the changing climate due to global warming?” The term ‘‘Arctic life’’ is a general term that one must narrow down. Most analysis on the ecological responses to changing climate has formulated these responses along four major axes: the physiology and behavior of individuals, the distribution of species, the structure of communities, and the dynamics of ecosystems. Here it is emphasized on physiology and behavior of the animals. This is due to the fact that the level at which natural selection works, and it is deemed that other categories essentially ultimately depend on physiology and the behavior of organisms. It is essential to highlight the phonological changes in this context, which signifies the annual timing of life history events in populations. Phenology termed as an essential aspect of the adaptation of Arctic populations. European Phenology network, acknowledged Phenology as “the study of the timing of recurring biological phases, the causes of their timing with regard to biotic and abiotic forces, and the interrelation among phases of the same or different species” (Berteaux, et al, 141). Also, “changing climatic conditions” is a complex concept as variation in climate is a result of changes in several variables and several measures. In the present context the thing that is considered is only a change in the standard temperature, which is possibly the most significant climate changes happening in the Arctic Circle. The word “changing” also depends upon the concerned time scale. The main emphasis is laid on the word, “quickly”. It is essentially a relative concept that is necessarily attached to a time scale. In the present context, “quick evolution” is being equated with “contemporary evolution”, which implies an evolutionary change that occurs over a few decades. It is to be notified that time is essentially not the best measure of the evolutionary rate. The approach would be significantly better by quantifying phenotypic change on the basis of standard deviation per generation. The final source of complexity does not implicate the definition of terms from the virtual absence of data on quantitative genetic parameters for most Arctic species. This is due to the possible difficulties in gathering of detailed information in the usually remote places of the Arctic. Confirmed data are essential to answer important question (Berteaux, et al, 140-141). Questions yet to be answered by the scientists Human activities is not the most essential cause of CO2 emission CO2 or carbon dioxide has natural sources like volcano, also all animals exhale it. How can it be emphasized that human activities are the primary cause of CO2 increase on a global scale? Natural process in the earth release large volume of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, although they also remove it in an identical rate. This balance essentially maintained the rate of emission of carbon dioxide stable since the medieval periods, prior to industrialization. The isotopic composition of carbon in atmospheric CO2 provides an exclusive “fingerprint”. This enlightens scientists that the lion’s share of the additional CO2 accumulating in the atmosphere is from the burning of fossil fuels (Wang and Chameides, 2-4). It is yet to be answered properly: why the climate changes actually vary? The scientists have yet not been able to enlighten the common man about the changing scenario of the climate, and the specific cause for the global warming. It is a significant fact that the earth’s climate has portrayed a variety of change in the recent years, due to natural processes. However, the scientists have significant qualitative explanations to support most of the variations in the climate over geologic time. This can largely be attributed to specific processes, not to unknown internal oscillations. Also, many of the climatic changes can be linked to the changes in the earth’s orbit around the sun (Wang and Chameides, 2-4). Recent predictions of a new ice age contradicts with global warming During the period of 1970, scientists had predicted that the occurrence of ice age was eminent in the future. Now they are claiming that the earth’s temperature is ring, which contradicts their previous statement. They are in a dilemma about what they are stating about. Ice age being eminent was essentially highlighted by the scientist. It was acknowledged that slowly the world would be engulfed into sheets of ice. But their predictions went wrong as the phenomenon of global warming arrived. Due to the significant rise in temperatures globally, scientists were forced to contradict their statement on ice age, and acknowledged the threat that earth was into, due to global warming (Wang and Chameides, 2-4). Scientists unable to “prove” current warming is not natural The climate scientists are unable to support the fact that current warming is not due to natural processes. This also resulted in the problem of claiming with certainty that current warming is a result of human processes. It is essentially true that, in a complex system like climate, it is essentially tough to prove a negative, which implies that natural processes are not the cause of global warming. Thermodynamics enlightens that the rising temperature of the earth’s crust must be a result of a combination of processes that supply excess heat to the lower atmosphere. Apart from the green house effect, the viable processes are increased output from the sun, high rate of absorption of heat from the sun, due to the changes in earth’s planetary activity, and the internal variation in the climate systems (Wang and Chameides, 2-4). Conclusion Global warming has poised as a major threat to the earth’s inhabitants. The animals in the Arctic region are essentially being in a condition of endangered species due to the increasing effect of global warming. The animals are encountering a shortage of food supply, and facing a threat to their survival due to the changing climatic conditions. The problem of global warming can only be solved if the scientists are able to answer effective e questions on global warming properly. There are wide areas that are unexplored and questions unanswered that deserves recognition. It is time that the scientist identifies these areas, before it too late for the animals of the Arctic Circle. References Aizebeokhai, Philips A., Global warming, and climate change: Realities, uncertainties and measures, (2009) 4.13, April 26, 2012 from: http://www.academicjournals.org/ijps/pdf/pdf2009/Dec%20x/Aizebeokhai.pdf Berteaux, Dominique et al, Keeping Pace with Fast Climate Change: Can Arctic Life Count on Evolution? 2004, April 26, 2012 from: http://chairedb.uqar.ca/Articles/2004%20Berteaux%20et%20al.%20ICB.pdf Kqed, Clue into Climate, Kqed, n.d, April 26, 2012 from: http://www.kqed.org/assets/pdf/education/educators/a-warmer-world-for-Arctic-animals-transcript.pdf Oceanconservancy, Meltdown: The Arctic and Global Warming, Oceanconservancy 2008, April 26, 2012 from: http://www.oceanconservancy.org/news-room/collateral/Arctic_final_d.pdf Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, Arctic Changes, 2009, April 26, 2012 from: http://www.parliament.uk/documents/post/postpn334.pdf Wang, James and Bill Chameides. Are Humans Responsible for Global Warming? 2007, April 26, 2012 from: http://www.edf.org/sites/default/files/5279_GlobalwarmingAttributuion.pdf Read More