Human activity has increased dramatically as society has advanced. Much of this activity has advanced communities, though at the same time there is much effect on the environment as well. One result of this is the global warming effects people are now experiencing. These effects are such that soon there will be no ice in the Arctic if this continues.
One of the activities that man has that affects the environment is the rising carbon dioxide level. This is mostly due to the burning of fossil fuels as well the extensive use of vehicles. A study has been made that links the rise of carbon dioxide levels to the melting of ice in the Arctic.
In the study that was made, its result finds that if carbon dioxide levels continue to rise at a fast rate, the Arctic won't have ice by 2050. The effect on the environment would be great if this would happen. Many scientists warn that many coastal areas would disappear if sea levels will rise, and this could happen if ice in the Arctic and the Antarctic would melt.
Dirk Notz, the study's lead author and climate scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Germany said that there is a direct relationship between the ice melting and rising carbon dioxide levels. In the study it was calculated that for every ton of carbon dioxide, 29 square feet of ice is being affected.
36 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere each year, according to Science News. Only a trillion metric tons is needed to make the Arctic free of ice, and with carbon dioxide emissions rising fast, it just might be on track to do it. That could mean the threshold could very well be crossed before 2050, as the study indicates.
Study co-author Julienne Stroeve has identified the cause of carbon dioxide emission, and she said that is because of the vehicles and coal-fired power plants that are emitting it. Cecilia Bitz, a climate scientist from the University of Washington has not been involved in the study, but she remarked that the study has made sea ice feel fragile.
For the study, the authors have used observations, statistics and 30 computer models, as Phys Org reports. Through these, it has been shown how heat-trapping gases can cause ice to melt as well as raise global temperature. Remarked Jennifer Francis, a Rutgers University marine scientist not involved in the study, that the study has confirmed Arctic ice is disappearing because of carbon dioxide.
The global warming effects can be felt, especially if soon there'll be no ice left in the Arctic. Even now those effects are here, as an earlier report has said that the threshold for carbon dioxide levels has been reached. There is much need to have environmental solutions in order to keep the Earth a habitable place for all life.
