Climate change has powerful and devastating consequences for future generations. In fact, we are already seeing many of its effects today. However, global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are still insufficient, and the melting of large polar ice caps like the Arctic is imminent. To learn more about this problem, you can consult the negative effects of melting ice on the planet.
What are the consequences that the total melting of the Arctic would have for the world?
Recent temperature records
Since 2014, when record-breaking global average temperatures were recorded, there have been nearly a hundred infections caused by Vibrio bacteria . 2014 was the warmest year on record. Among the bacteria involved were those responsible for cholera outbreaks on the coasts of Sweden and Finland. Some of these cases occurred approximately 160 kilometers from the Arctic Circle . Why might these bacteria affect latitudes near the Arctic? The case of Vibrio bacteria is one example of how Arctic ice melt impacts public health.
Bacteria of the genus Vibrio
Effects of climate change that disrupt ecosystems
Climate change and its negative effects are disrupting the functioning and distribution range of many plant and animal species. The species most vulnerable to these changes are associated with the tropics and are migrating northward due to rising temperatures. These bacteria of the genus Vibrio require high temperatures to thrive, and due to global temperature increases, they may expand their distribution range and survive in areas of higher northern latitudes. The emergence of diseases and pathogens is just one of the consequences of the ice melt caused by climate change. To better understand the impact on wildlife, it is important to consider how the melting of the polar ice caps is affecting ecosystems and marine life.
It's important to note that global warming is not occurring equally everywhere in the world. Some regions of the planet, due to their geographical location, are warming more than others. For example, in the Arctic, an effect called Arctic amplification occurs , whereby ice melt is more pronounced than in other frozen regions. This can be explained relatively simply: Melting ice reduces the region's capacity to reflect incident solar radiation. In other words, the Earth's albedo decreases because there is less ice to reflect radiation, and therefore, the amount of heat absorbed by the ground is greater. This causes the surface to warm even more and further fuels the melting, allowing pathogens to access these more habitable areas and spread, as has been documented in the thawing of permafrost.
Bacteria spread
Although invisible to the naked eye, marine bacteria are the main component of ocean biomass. The previously mentioned species of bacteria from the genus Vibrio are pathogenic. Another danger posed by melting ice is the thawing of permafrost in northern Siberia, Canada, and Greenland. As mentioned earlier, the melting of the entire ice layer allows these pathogenic bacteria to spread and cause serious illnesses. A clear example of this can be seen in the melting of the Larsen C Ice Shelf . Furthermore, it is important to note that climate change is affecting Antarctica and could have serious global repercussions.
Permafrost (frozen soil)
In June 2015, researchers from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) discovered DNA from previously unknown viruses in lakes in Svalbard. Two months later, the discovery of a 30.000-year-old virus trapped in Siberian ice was announced. This could pose a serious health problem worldwide because the behavior of these types of viruses is not well understood, and they may cause new diseases in humans. This phenomenon highlights the need to study the negative effects of melting ice on the planet.
The thaw paradox and climate change
Climate change is melting Arctic ice, and this, in turn, is exacerbating climate change. A comprehensive 2015 report by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences on the global impacts of Arctic ice melt highlighted how the reduction of the albedo effect, the release of methane and carbon trapped in permafrost, and the disruption of ocean circulation will intensify global warming. And that will likely lead to the disappearance of what remains of the Arctic ice. It is also important to understand how this situation might be affected.
