Effect of Climate Change on Sea Ice
Climate change is the rapidly occurring shift in climatic conditions due to excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (Tans and Bakwin 1995). Climate change is causing a warming of the earth’s atmosphere and the consequent melting of polar ices (Otto-Bliesner et al. 2006). Records indicate that in the past 30 years, global warming has caused a decrease in the September arctic ice cover by 7.7% per decade (Otto-Bliesner et al. 2006). Furthermore, it is predicted from simulation models, that over the next 30-year period, a reduction in overall ice cover of 83% will occur (Meier, Doscher and Halkka 2004). As a result, climate change is having a detrimental effect on arctic and icy ecosystems (Moore and Huntington 2008 and Tans and Bakwin 1995). Furthermore, the warming climate is likely to bring with it longer periods of intense rainfall (Stirling and Smith 2004). Unlike climate change in the past, climate change transpiring presently is occurring at a much faster rate then previously observed (Moore and Huntington 2008). As a result of this rapid change, most animals are unable to adapt (Moore and Huntington 2008). It has been observed from studies, that in addition to a decrease in ice cover area, these colder areas are experiencing a later period of freezing, earlier ice break up and shallower snow depth, which may in turn disrupt the breeding cycles of many organisms (Meier, Doscher and Halkka 2004). There are many species that rely on long periods of thick ice for breeding and survival, one such species is the ringed seal (Meier, Doscher and Halkka 2004 and Stroeve et al. 2008)