The Antarctic: Earth’s Future
by Angelena Zuzek
The Antarctic plays an immense role in Earth’s future. This is because the Antarctic helps with controlling the Earth’s climate. As such, the Antarctic is the main player in the Ocean’s Conveyor Belt System. Without any changes made or workable solutions to help control climate change in the Antarctic, global warming will be a substantial problem in Earth’s future for generations to come. Earth’s future is dependent upon a solution to keep the Antarctic cold. Without a solution to keep the Antarctic cold, future generations to come will live in increasing heat and ocean life and environments will diminish.
Climate change is causing more ice melts in the Antarctic. These ice melts are negatively affecting Earth’s future: “The southern continent is a place of extremes. According to the American Museum of Natural History, the Antarctic ice cap contains some 70 percent of Earth’s fresh water and about 90 percent of its ice, even though it is only the fifth largest continent” (Harvey). Antarctica is drastically warming the fastest out of all of Earth’s continents. This affects Earth’s future because the ice sheets and glaciers help cool down Earth’s atmosphere. At the rate the Antarctic is warming up, Earth’s population should expect to experience hotter climates. In recent data acquired by David Schnieder, “Sea ice concentrations decrease when there are temperatures that are above average” (Schnieder, 2016). David Schnieder’s data shows that low atmospheric temperatures in the Antarctic play a key role in sea ice concentrations. A diminishment of these sea ice concentrations affects the temperature, wind, and pressure in the Antarctic. Reductions in these ice concentrations negatively impact Earth by causing a rise in temperature over the years. Ice glaciers located in the Antarctic are extremely important to the Earth because they stabilize the Earth’s global temperature. While these ice glaciers keep melting, Earth’ future continues to look hotter by the day. Therefore, without a solution to increasing temperatures in the Antarctic, sea ice concentrations will continue to melt, and the Earth’s air temperatures will continue to rise exponentially in the years to come (Schnieder, 2016).
Another concerning factor is that hot temperatures in the Antarctic can drastically affect thermohaline circulation or the ocean’s conveyor belt system. This conveyor belt system transports hot and cold ocean water through underwater currents from northern oceans to southern oceans and back again. Extreme temperatures threaten to break this system. If temperatures continue to rise in the Antarctic, water will not be moved properly throughout the globe. The ocean’s conveyor belt system is important in cooling down the Antarctic as well as the rest of the world. Research shows that “Without the conveyor belt system, Nutrience won’t be moved upward” (Carangelo, 2016). Without Nutrience being transported upward, ocean life and ecosystems are threatened and will decline. If severe climate change breaks the conveyor belt, Earth’s atmosphere will get hotter in the future and ocean life will die. Without the natural conveyor belt system in the ocean, Earth’s ecosystems and animals in the ocean will diminish over the years. If Antarctica does not stop warming up, the ocean may also experience a widespread red tide. Therefore, the quicker changes are made and solutions put in place the better; otherwise, the conveyor belt will break, and the Earth will change (Carangelo, 2016).
An additional threatening fact is that global warming is being driven by a decrease in sea ice concentrations. Antarctica plays a huge role in the global climate process. Antarctica also plays an essential role in Earth’s heat equilibrium. Ice glaciers located in the Antarctic cool down air temperatures around the globe. Ice glaciers located in Antarctica causes air temperatures around the globe to decrease and stabilize which is a good thing. This also combats global warming. Recent studies show that “ice sheets reflect radiation into space rather than at Earth’s surface” (Boudreaw 2023). Ice sheets and glaciers stop UV radiation from the sun from reaching the Earth’s surface. Unfortunately, when these ice sheets and glaciers are melting, the UV radiation from the sun reaches Earth’s surface and is then absorbed. Radiation from the sun is one of the top reasons why global warming is a pressing issue today and in Earth’s future. Not only will radiation increasingly affect the Antarctic if these ice glaciers and ice sheets continue to melt, but humans and animals will be impacted as well. Therefore, if the ice sheets and glaciers continue to melt and a solution is not achieved, then the Antarctic will continue to warm and Earth could experience extreme and dangerous temperature conditions in the future (Boudreaw 2023).
To conclude, the Antarctic plays an immense role in Earth’s future. Because of climate changes in the Antarctic and global warming, a threat is posed to the ocean’s conveyor belt system. Antarctica is particularly important to Earth’s heat equilibrium. Without a colder future for Antarctica, the heat equilibrium will not be distributed and stabilized correctly. Climate change and global warming are significant problems. Without solutions in place, Earth will get increasingly hotter each year. If Antarctica continues to warm rapidly far beyond the tipping points, ocean ecosystems will ultimately die out. Protecting and preserving the Antarctic is essential for the well-being of our planet. Therefore, if this problem is not resolved, Earth will have a difficult future for generations to come and future ecosystems and animals will diminish and die. Antarctica is crucial to Earth’s future because of its impact on climate regulation and biodiversity.
Works Cited
Boudreau, Diane. “Antarctica.” Education, 25 July 2023, https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/antarctica/.
Carangelo, Audrey. “Ocean Conveyor Belt.” Education, 1 June 2023, https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/ocean-conveyor-belt/.
Harvey, Ailsa. “50 Interesting Facts about Earth.” Live Science, 1 June 2023, https://www.livescience.com/19102-amazing-facts-earth.html#section-bibliography
Park, W., and M. Latif. “Ensemble Global Warming Simulations with Idealized Antarctic Meltwater Input.” Climate Dynamics, 52.5-6, 2019,
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2019ClDy…52.3223P/abstract
Schnieder, David. “THE AMUNDSEN SEA LOW: Variability, Change, and Impact on Antarctic Climate.” Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 2016,
https://opensky.ucar.edu/islandora/object/articles:18079
“West Antarctic Warming Hotspot.” Nature (London), 2013, 493(7431), 136–136, https://doi.org/10.1038/493136b