Greenland glaciers and the Arctic sea ice are melting at rapid rates described by scientists as almost “at the tipping point”. Tipping point as scientists explain is when the climate system has reached its maximum capacity for change and all those gradual changes we felt in the past will suddenly surge into high gear.
Studies show that despite our efforts to stop filling the air with greenhouse gasses, the amount of gasses now trapped in the atmosphere has already brought warmer temperature. Hence, it’s no longer possible to undo the chain of events that now globally transpires following the climate changes and warming of temperature.
There is too much carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses already trapped in the atmosphere causing intense solar heat beating down on larger bodies of water. Arctic sea ice continues to melt creating more open ocean water. Accordingly, the ocean has enormous capacity to trap heat and in the process, it expands. This is what scientists call as “thermal expansion”.
So expect the melting to go on, meaning more open ocean leading to greater “thermal expansion” and of course more “thermal expansion” leading to greater ice melts.
The Rise in Sea Levels
After all the ice and glaciers have melted away, the next problem will be the rise in sea levels. There is now more volume of water all around us. In fact, ¾ of the Earth’s surface will be brimming. As the globe enters another phase, the season will change into summer. There will be more thermal heat to beat down on a vast expanse of water. The volume of evaporation and moisture will then be greater creating low- pressure areas and depressions in the atmosphere.
Soon there will be rains, downpours, and storms. Soon the winds brought by the Earth’s spinning motion will entangle and trap one of these low- pressure areas and there will typhoons, cyclones, “tsunamis”, and hurricanes. Scientific projections have it that even just a middle range occurrence will have devastating effect in terms of flooding.
The rise in sea level will gravely affect those who have built their towns and cities, and mega-cities in low-lying coastal areas. There are those who have formed their habitats in deltas and major rivers as well as nations thriving in their small islands. Scientists do not see a bright future since no amount of green house prevention can undo what is slowly taking place.
The advent of global warming introduced us to “acid rains”. Today, there is too much acid in the ocean waters. Researchers have tested the ocean waters and found higher levels of CO2; hence, seawater is now more acidic. As marine life and fisheries have shown evidences of its effect, scientists believe that the Earth is facing more damages.
Too much acidity and warmer sea surface temperatures are the contributing factors to the death of coral reefs during the past decades. Marine life that depend on these coral reefs have weakened and are beginning to die in massive numbers brought about by coral bleaching. Since man has not yet learned his lessons, studies show that sediments coming from coastal developments are now blocking the sunlight that the reef creatures need in order to survive.
Scientists sound like prophets of doom but they cannot help it since their studies lead to far greater devastations as their conclusions. Too much carbon dioxide dissolving in seawater will eventually cause water contamination. Consequently, there will be water shortage that will greatly affect agricultural and livestock food production. Hence, the next generations represented by our children and grandchildren are bound to face water and food shortage.
Ice-free Greenland will uncover land trapped millions of years ago. Prospectors see it as another source of natural wealth to divest and explore. However, our learned scientists see the re-emergence of ancient fungus and microbes buried millions of years ago, as they thrive on the Earth’s new thermal temperature.
This will be no different as to how an ancient type of fungus found in the Rocky Mountains came back to life because of the warming temperature; no one noticed until the lab’s best friend, the noble frog slowly became extinct. Only then did scientists found out that an ancient fungus called “chytridiomycosis”” has found new life on the Earth’s new temperature and found the frogs as their likely host. Today and globally, frogs are dying in massive numbers.
Hence, what they are trying to tell us is there will be new kinds of diseases that may be airborne or carried by any form of animal especially the dreaded insects like the flies and mosquitoes.
Your guess is as good as mine is; where will the chain reaction stop then?