Earth's cryosphere shrinking due to climate change
By
Brett Anderson, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Jul 6, 2021 3:12 PM EDT
The surface area of the Earth covered by sea ice, snow cover and frozen ground, otherwise known as the cryosphere, shrank on average by 33,000 sq. miles (87,000 sq. kilometers) per year between 1979-2016. This is equivalent to losing an area slightly larger than the state of South Carolina per year.
This study, which was published in the American Geophysical Union's (AGU) journal Earth's Future, is the first global assessment of the extent of the cryosphere and its response to climate change.
According to the AGU report, the cryosphere, which is critical to cooling our planet by reflecting sunlight off its white colored surfaces, also holds almost 75 percent of the Earth's fresh water. Any changes in the size and location of ice and snow can have a significant impact on air temperatures and sea level.
To no surprise, the greatest losses to the cryosphere occurred in the Northern Hemisphere. The cryosphere in the Southern Hemisphere actually expanded slightly during the period, mainly due to wind patterns, ocean currents and the influx of cold meltwater from the Antarctic ice sheets.
The report also found that the average first day of freezing in the cryosphere is now 3.6 days later than what it was in 1979, while the thaws are on average 5.7 days earlier.
From the AGU report.....
“The cryosphere is one of the most sensitive climate indicators and the first one to demonstrate a changing world,” said first author Xiaoqing Peng, a physical geographer at Lanzhou University. “Its change in size represents a major global change, rather than a regional or local issue.”
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Weather Blogs / Global climate change
Earth's cryosphere shrinking due to climate change
By Brett Anderson, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Jul 6, 2021 3:12 PM EDT
The surface area of the Earth covered by sea ice, snow cover and frozen ground, otherwise known as the cryosphere, shrank on average by 33,000 sq. miles (87,000 sq. kilometers) per year between 1979-2016. This is equivalent to losing an area slightly larger than the state of South Carolina per year.
This study, which was published in the American Geophysical Union's (AGU) journal Earth's Future, is the first global assessment of the extent of the cryosphere and its response to climate change.
According to the AGU report, the cryosphere, which is critical to cooling our planet by reflecting sunlight off its white colored surfaces, also holds almost 75 percent of the Earth's fresh water. Any changes in the size and location of ice and snow can have a significant impact on air temperatures and sea level.
To no surprise, the greatest losses to the cryosphere occurred in the Northern Hemisphere. The cryosphere in the Southern Hemisphere actually expanded slightly during the period, mainly due to wind patterns, ocean currents and the influx of cold meltwater from the Antarctic ice sheets.
The report also found that the average first day of freezing in the cryosphere is now 3.6 days later than what it was in 1979, while the thaws are on average 5.7 days earlier.
From the AGU report.....
“The cryosphere is one of the most sensitive climate indicators and the first one to demonstrate a changing world,” said first author Xiaoqing Peng, a physical geographer at Lanzhou University. “Its change in size represents a major global change, rather than a regional or local issue.”
Report a Typo