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Polar Ice Shrinking.
Alarm over faster melting.
According to the latest reports polar ice within the Arctic Circle is melting at a rate that gives rise for concern. The latest estimates reveal that each year sees the loss of over 14,
000 square miles of ice cap, roughly equivalent to an area the size of Wales. In recent years the rate of this shrinkage has increased quite dramatically and over 19 years this loss amounts to an area larger than
the state of Texas.
For scientists who had expected a much more moderate rate of increase these latest findings come as something of a shock. For instance the potential rise in sea level worldwide from the melting of the Greenland ice sheet and the world's valley glaciers is 7 meters -
more than enough to spell disaster for low-lying areas. As well as the obvious consequences of global flooding, loss of the polar ice caps also has an effect on global warming.
Ice caps reflect sunlight back into space. If this did not happen there would be a greater absorption of solar radiation, which in turn heats up the planet.
Disturbing Results.
Another unwelcome discovery is that the overall depth of the polar icecaps is decreasing at a staggering rate. Moreover this decrease involves a uniform spread across the whole of the
Arctic Circle involving the loss of around four inches of ice each year. In fact studies conducted by submarine on behalf of the American Geophysical Union show that over the course of 25 years the depth of the
polar ice has shrunk by at least 40%.
The Greenhouse Effect.
Although the exact cause of this depletion is not fully understand there is widespread agreement that the main contributory factor is global warming brought on by the Greenhouse Effect.
In turn this is a self perpetuating phenomenon which once underway is difficult to reverse.
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