Melting Arctic Ice and Planetary Weather Conditions
A few people have asked me recently if I can explain the effect that the melting ice in the arctic is having on weather conditions more generally. Linked above is an article with tons of links that gets at this very nicely, IMO.
Yes, this phenomenon affects polar bears, but, unfortunately, that’s just the beginning.
As I understand it, open water and ice-free land absorb solar energy and store and/or radiate it as infrared – this is heat that remains planet-bound.
Conversely, ice quite effectively reflects that energy as light back out into space. When the ice is gone from the sea and land, the increased absorption of solar energy contributes to the overall disruption of the normal climate.
Further, the huge volumes of fresh water flowing into the salt seawater alter the currents and resulting thermal flows in the ocean. This alteration in ocean currents also disrupts weather patterns.
There is, for example, a kind of heat pump that brings warm ocean water northward in the Atlantic, and it keeps England far more habitable than it otherwise would be. One apprehension that has been discussed is the potential impact of a massive freshwater dump from the Greenland ice sheet shutting down that Atlantic heat pump.
The effects would be global in scope, but could severely drop the average temperatures across the United Kingdom (which sits northward of Newfoundland’s latitude). The climate across Western Europe might also be powerfully affected.
That’s my two cents.