Melting of Arctic Ice & Ocean acidification

Melting of Arctic Ice & Ocean acidification

The western Arctic Ocean's altering chemistry has just been brought to light by a research team.

Information about the study

• Research findings: Three to four times quicker than other ocean waters, the acidity levels in Arctic seas are rising, according to the study.
• Seawater typically has a pH of 8.1, making it alkaline.
• The team also discovered a significant link between the rate of ocean acidification and the accelerated rate of glacier melting.

Reasons:

Scientists Cite sea-ice melt as the principal factor responsible for this abrupt pH drop since it affects surface water in three main ways:

• The water beneath the sea ice, which previously lacked carbon dioxide, is now open to the atmosphere's carbon dioxide and may readily absorb it.
• Because the ocean and meltwater are light and can't easily mix, the carbon dioxide is concentrated near the surface.
• The seawater's capacity to convert carbon dioxide into bicarbonate is weakened by meltwater, which also causes a sharp drop in the pH of the ocean.

Data progression

• For the first time, data from 1994 to 2020 are included in an examination of Arctic acidification.

Predictions:

• According to scientific predictions, this area's Arctic Sea ice won't survive the region's increasingly warm summers by the year 2050.

Consequences:

• As the ocean's chemistry becomes more acidic, the diverse population of marine life, plants, and other living organisms that depend on a healthy ocean could experience potentially fatal issues.
• For instance, crabs inhabit a crusty shell made of the calcium carbonate found in ocean water.
• Fish and marine birds depend on plankton and plants for sustenance, just as polar bears do, and many people consume a lot of seafood.

Arctic Area

• Location: Generally speaking, it refers to the area north of latitude 66° 34' N, above the Arctic Circle, which contains the Arctic Ocean with the North Pole at its centre.
• Arctic Council: The Arctic Council is made up of the eight Arctic States of Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States.
• Resources and population: The Arctic is home to almost four million people, of whom around a tenth are regarded as indigenous.
• The Arctic Ocean and its surrounding continent have drawn significant interest from the world's scientific community and are a major research priority for decision-makers.
• The Arctic has an impact on the earth's ecosystem's biogeochemical, oceanic, and atmospheric cycles.
• Mineral Resources: The Arctic region possesses significant quantities of zinc, lead, placer gold, quartz, and rich amounts of coal, gypsum, and diamonds.
• A fourth of the rare earth reserves in the world are found in Greenland alone.
• Resources for hydrocarbons are also abundant in the Arctic. India is the third-largest consumer of electricity worldwide.
• Therefore, the Arctic may be able to meet India's needs for energy security.

Threats:

• Twice as quickly as the rest of the globe, the Arctic is warming.
• The loss of Arctic sea ice is a result of global warming brought on by greenhouse gases.

Polar amplifying:

• The Arctic amplification phenomena happens when the white sea ice thins or melts, allowing dark ocean or land surfaces to absorb more solar heat and release it back into the atmosphere.

Implications of Arctic warming (on India)

Rising Sea Level:

• The Greenland ice sheet is essential for maintaining the sea level since it stores the second-largest amount of ice behind Antarctica.
• Sea level rise along the Indian coast is occurring more quickly than the global average pace, according to the World Meteorological Organization's assessment, "State of Global Climate in 2021."
• The melting of sea ice in the northern areas, particularly the Arctic, is one of the main causes of this increase.

Climate change

• As the permafrost in the Arctic thaws, carbon and methane, two of the main greenhouse gases contributing to global warming, are released.

Biodiversity:

• Climate change is having an effect on biodiversity, particularly marine species and dependent species, by warming the Arctic Ocean and the seas in the area, acidifying the water, and changing salinity levels.

Connectivity:

• The Arctic will have the shortest maritime distance connecting America, Europe, and North East Asia due to the melting of its ice cap and its physical location.
• The conventional East-West route through the Malacca Strait and Suez Canal, which is now used for international maritime trade, will probably be changed as a result of this.
• Due to the catastrophic weather events the nation experiences and the significant reliance on rainfall for water and food security, the relationship between the impact of the changing Arctic and the monsoons in India is becoming more and more significant.

Geopolitics:

• The Arctic ice loss is also escalating the geopolitical situation.
• China referred to itself as a "Near-Arctic State" in its White Paper on Arctic policy from 2018.
• The US, China, and Russia, as well as NATO, are vying for position and influence in the region as a result of the opening of the shipping lanes and the potential for increasing resource extraction.

Way Forward

• The issue is that we are unsure of exactly what influences how quickly ice flows and, consequently, enters the ocean.
• Studying previous sea level changes can help with the issue of not comprehending the process.
• Approximately 125,000 years ago, during the most recent interglacial, Earth was almost as warm as it is today.
• To lessen and alleviate the effects of human-caused climate change on the glaciers, we urgently need to take action

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