Sea Ice Trends - Term Paper Example

With the Arctic ice melting at an unprecedented pace in the Northern Hemisphere, the ocean waters absorb most of the sun’s energy and this explains why the global average sea levels are increasing. It is an interesting fact the while the sea ice extent in the Northern Hemisphere has been below average in the recent years, sea ice extent has been above average for Antarctica in the Southern Hemisphere (Daniel). In the same report is it mentioned that the Arctic sea ice extent in the Northern Hemisphere as of June 20, 2012 melt at a faster rate than it did during the same time back in 2007.

The differing sea ice trends in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere present a troubling situation as majority of the Earth’s population lives in the Northern Hemisphere where the area covered by ice is already smaller as compared to latter. Arctic sea ice covers about 14-16 million square kilometers in contrast to 17-20 million square kilometers in the Southern Ocean (Daniel) and while the ice is rapidly melting in the Northern Hemisphere, it is gaining momentum in the other Hemisphere. . According to a research study done by the US climate scientists, the ocean temperatures heating up due to global warming threaten to leave a billion people high and dry despite the fact that ice caps are gradually melting” (Vastag).

The onset of gloom geographical changes is directly related to the Earth’s rising temperature which can definitely be blamed on myriad human activities like agricultural and industrial revolution, trees removal, land-use change, and an increase in the poisonous gases in the atmosphere. Due to all these human activities, greenhouse warming results leading to “melting of the arctic icepack, snowfields, and glaciers, which causes a decrease in Earth’s albedo, therefore throwing off the balance of our climate” (Turk and Bensel 12).

With the advancement in the satellite technology since 1979 the data obtained to date reveals that over the past 30-33 years in the period from 1979 to 2012, the Arctic sea ice extent has been declining at a consistent rate. Though it remains true that a lot of ice growth was seen during the fall of 2011-12 across the Northern Hemisphere, the reality is that the increase reported in that ice extent was contributed by the new ice which both grows and melts faster than the old ice which stays longer and remains largely unaffected by the warming Earth temperatures (Daniel).

In another report about the evolution of sea ice trends in August 2012 is this identified that the latest snow and ice data recorded on August 26 reveals the Arctic sea ice extent to fall below 4 million square kilometers. In the same report is it also mentioned that as a consequence of rapid loss of the reflective ice cover which plays a huge role in absorbing solar