Antarctica Meltdown : On thin ice
Pastor Dale Morgan
Antarctica Meltdown : On thin ice*
POSTED: 1450 GMT (2250 HKT), May 2, 2007
By Michelle Jana Chan for CNN
HALF MOON ISLAND, Antarctica (CNN) -- Iceberg Alley is an aptly named
narrow channel on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula.
The water is afloat with glassy splinters, hardly bigger than an ice
cube, ranging up to colossal tabular icebergs, some the size of several
football pitches.
Cruising down this channel in subzero temperatures, it's difficult to
imagine Antarctica may be suffering from the effects of global warming.
But these giant breakaway icebergs may in fact be signaling the
continent's meltdown.
Icebergs originate from ice sheets, which form on land from millions of
years of snowfall. As the ice gravitates towards the sea, it naturally
breaks up. But scientists say the ice around the Antarctic Peninsula is
disintegrating at unprecedented rates and blame warmer weather.
In the last 50 years, this region has experienced a 2.5C increase in
average temperature. That is a faster rise than any other place in the
southern hemisphere.
Walking along the pebble beach at Half Moon Island, Chris Edwards, a
geologist from Scotland, says the changes are obvious. "I am horrified
by the amount of red snow algae I am seeing now, which means we're down
to 'old snow.'"
Edwards suggests that's a tell-tale sign of a serious change in weather
patterns.
"Evidence like this is everywhere. For example, the Northeast Glacier
used to be buffered on to Stonington Island. It's retreated 40 meters
(45 yards) in the last 35 years. Now, there's no ice ramp attaching it
to the mainland."
This month is the launch of International Polar Year (IPY) -- an
ambitious scientific effort involving over 200 projects -- which will
study exactly these types of geological changes. Researchers will
investigate reductions in ice sheets and explore the impact on sea
levels and marine ecosystems.
Birgit Sattler, a microbiologist from the University of Innsbruck,
Austria, highlights the need to raise awareness of these issues.
She is conducting a month-long scientific project into glaciers around
Port Lockroy, a former whaling station which is now a British research
center.
"The Antarctic eco-system is very sensitive and tiny climate changes
have dramatic effects. There are far longer vegetation phases now.
Plants are growing at much higher altitudes. It's really important to
tell people about this."
Before the research papers of the IPY's scientists are published, for
those living on the southern polar cap, climate change is already palpable.
Rick Atkinson is Base Manager at Port Lockroy. He has been working in
Antarctica for more than 20 years.
"We have to recognize what is happening here. When it's meant to snow,
it starts raining. That's not normal."