Screaming For Help: Antarctica Ice Melting
Ashley Jun ’26
Daphne Wong ’26
Antarctica is in great danger. This beautiful continent, a habitat for numerous animals such as penguins and whale seals, currently “accounts for 90 percent of Earth’s total ice volume and 70 percent of its fresh water” (NSF). However, these ice masses and glaciers are melting rapidly at an average rate of 150 billion tons per year due to human activities, contributing heavily to the rising of sea levels (NASA, 2023). With such detriments unfolding, it is predicted that the global sea level can reach about 200 ft once Antarctica's ice sheet completely melts (NSF).
According to Scientific American, Antarctica’s melting has been greatly affected by global warming, which has caused a shift in wind patterns and brought in warmer water near Antarctica’s glaciers. The inconsistent wind patterns blow both eastward and westward, contrary to the past, when it was mostly only westward wind blowing. Since eastward wind typically brings in warm water from local rivers, this has exacerbated the melting of Antarctic glaciers (Sneed, 2019). Aside from the wind patterns, high levels of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions also contribute to the phenomenon. Moreover, the harmful gases trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, contributing to global warming. Thus, reducing and checking emission levels must begin immediately and be carried out consistently .
On a larger scale, we can also build underwater walls to protect the glaciers from warm water. A wall made out of robot-excavated ocean sediment, “would extend from the ocean floor to the base of glaciers’ floating ice,” reducing ice meltage (Cox, 2018). Moreover, the Environmental Defense Fund states that if we utilize the pre-existing technology, we can reduce 75% of methane emissions produced by the oil and gas industry. This includes continuously implementing renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power. While these major solutions require global effort to implement, simple actions and changes in our daily lives also exist. For example, we can walk to work instead of riding a vehicle, and turn off the lights and water when not used or needed to decrease carbon emissions (Davies, 2013).
Clearly, society is running out of time to protect Antarctica and our home, the Earth. Thus, we should carry out actions as soon as possible to preserve Antarctica for our future generations.
References
(2023, March 02). Ice Sheets. NASA. https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/ice-sheets/
3.0 Antarctica. National Science Foundation.
Sneed, A. (2019, August 16). The Reason Antarctica Is Melting: Shifting Winds, Driven by Global Warming. Scientific American.
Cox, D. (2018, May 26). Two audacious plans for saving the world's ice sheets. NBC News.
https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/can-these-bold-plans-keep-world-s-ice-sheets-melting-ncna877616
Davies, B. (2013, August 10). What are various solutions as to how humans can help preserve Antarctica, reduce the effects of enhanced
climate change on it? AntarcticGlaciers.
EDF Staff. (2022, March 14). The fastest way to save melting sea ice: EDF study. Environmental Defense Fund.
https://www.edf.org/article/fastest-way-save-melting-sea-ice-edf-study
Hancock, L. Why are glaciers and sea ice melting? World Wildlife Fund.
https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/why-are-glaciers-and-sea-ice-melting
