New climate change predictions unveil a bleak future for our planet, and we might not be able to help it at all.
A team of researchers investigated an ancient sea ice core and discovered new insights into the already complicated relationship between climate change and sea ice.
Here is what you need to know.
Sea Ice in Danger: What’s There Left For Earth?
According to new data, a 170m record of marine sediment cores from Adelie Land in Antarctica sheds some upsetting details about Earth’s future.
The recent research aimed to discover how the fluctuations in sea ice levels affected the algae blooms and some weather occurrences linked to El Nino over the last 12,000 years.
What they found is genuinely intriguing.
Findings
Researchers discovered that Antarctic winds trigger the melting and break-out of sea ice which influences the levels of algae to grow quickly in surface waters when sea ice is lowered. And that’s not all.
Those changes in the waters surrounding the Antarctic can affect the global carbon cycle a lot!
Dr. James Bendle, the co-author of the new paper, released a statement:
“[…] any insights linking this with Antarctic sea ice is fascinating and has implications for how future long-term loss of sea ice may affect food webs in Antarctic waters, as well as carbon cycling processes within this globally important region.”
More Findings
The researchers also discovered that algal bloom events could be seen annually before 4,500 years ago. But, due to the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the algal events saw some changes, and other climate cycles, including the sea-ice levels, quickly grew.’
The new data offers a longer-term insight into how sea ice and climate modes, such as ENSO, can influence the frequency of those algal bloom occurrences.
More research is needed to allow scientists to release accurate predictions and more robust models.