Ice caps reflect excess heat back into space and keep the planet cooler. It’s natural for ice caps to melt. The melting is counteracted by falling snow that is compacted into ice restoring the surface area of the glacier. However, with global warming occurring rapidly, ice caps and glaciers are melting much faster than they can be replenished.
This sporadic melting is causing a huge impact on human life, animal life, and the environment. It’s important that we fully understand the gravity of the situation to see why we need to reverse the situation.
These 15 polar ice caps melting facts will give you great insight into how much ice we’ve lost and continue to lose and the consequences.
Page Contents
- Polar Ice Cap Melting Facts
- 1. Ice sheets in Greenland and Western Antarctica are losing huge amounts of ice every year
- 2. Ice cap melting contributed to a 1.06-millimeter rise in sea levels
- 3. Coastal flooding could affect 400 million people annually
- 4. We lose Arctic sea ice at a rate of almost 13% per decade
- 5. We could have ice-free Arctic by 2040
- 6. New dangerous shipping lanes
- Interesting Polar Ice Caps Facts
- 7. How are ice caps formed?
- 8. The two ice sheets on Earth cover most of Greenland and Antarctica
- 9. 90% of the world’s ice is located at the South Pole
- 10. 99% of the freshwater ice on Earth is found in the Antarctic and Greenland
- 11. The ice cap at Antarctica is as big as Mexico and the United States combined
- 12. A slight increase in temperature can cause rapid havoc in the Arctic
- 13. Scientists use the ice caps to learn about the earth’s history
- 14. The largest single block of ice in the Arctic is breaking into little pieces
- Can We Stop The Ice Caps From Melting?
- What Percentage of the Ice Caps Have Melted?
- What Is the Cause of Melting Ice Caps?
- What Happens if the Ice Caps Keep Melting?
Polar Ice Cap Melting Facts
1. Ice sheets in Greenland and Western Antarctica are losing huge amounts of ice every year
According to glaciologists at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven, Germany ice sheets in Greenland and Western Antarctica are losing about 120 cubic miles of ice per year. The ice sheet loss in West Antarctic has tripled and the volume of loss in Greenland has doubled since 2009.
2. Ice cap melting contributed to a 1.06-millimeter rise in sea levels
Facts about ice caps melting from a study by researchers at the University of Colorado show that from January 2003 to December 2010, ice cap melting contributed to a 1.06-millimeter rise in sea levels.
3. Coastal flooding could affect 400 million people annually
If we don’t cut down our carbon emissions significantly, scientists predict that there could be a rise in sea levels that would leave 400 million people exposed to coastal flooding each year by the end of the century.
4. We lose Arctic sea ice at a rate of almost 13% per decade
Ice caps melting facts indicate that Arctic sea ice is lost at a rate of almost 13% per decade. The oldest and thickest ice in the Arctic has declined by a stunning 95% over the past 30 years.
5. We could have ice-free Arctic by 2040
Glaciers melting facts indicate that if green gas emissions continue to rise unchecked, the Arctic could be ice-free in the summer by 2040.
6. New dangerous shipping lanes
With so much sea ice lost in the waters around the North Pole in recent years, nations are beginning to use these newly opened water lanes for shipping. These routes may be time-savers, but incredibly dangerous and could lead to more shipwrecks or oil spills.
Interesting Polar Ice Caps Facts
7. How are ice caps formed?
Ice caps are formed when snow that falls builds up and does not melt in the warmer weather. With time, the layers of snow become layers of ice as they become compressed.
8. The two ice sheets on Earth cover most of Greenland and Antarctica
The two ice sheets on Earth today cover most of Greenland and Antarctica. The Antarctic Ice Sheet extends almost 5.4 million square miles. The Greenland Ice Sheet extends about 656,000 square miles.
9. 90% of the world’s ice is located at the South Pole
Approximately 90% of the world’s ice is located at the South Pole at Antarctica. This ice is about 7,000 feet thick.
10. 99% of the freshwater ice on Earth is found in the Antarctic and Greenland
Together, the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets contain more than 99 percent of the freshwater ice on Earth.
11. The ice cap at Antarctica is as big as Mexico and the United States combined
The ice cap at Antarctica covers about the same amount of space as Mexico and the United States combined.
12. A slight increase in temperature can cause rapid havoc in the Arctic
According to polar ice caps melting statistics, a slight difference in temperature in the Arctic can be huge. For instance, if it goes from 31 Fahrenheit to 33 Fahrenheit, you’re going from ice skating to swimming.13. Polar caps are Earth’s refrigerators
80% of the sunlight that strikes the polar caps is reflected back out of our atmosphere cooling down the earth.
13. Scientists use the ice caps to learn about the earth’s history
Dust, gas, and other compounds became trapped in the ice over millions of years. Scientists harvest and study these compounds to learn about changes in the climate of the earth in the past.
14. The largest single block of ice in the Arctic is breaking into little pieces
The Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, the largest single block of ice in the Arctic—which has been around for the last 3000 years—started cracking in 2000 and is now breaking into little pieces.
Can We Stop The Ice Caps From Melting?
If these glaciers melting statistics are anything to go by, then we need to start paying attention to the effects of the ice caps melting. What can we do about such a big event?
Humankind has become dependent on the burning of fossil fuels to support our way of life. Unfortunately, this increases global warming at an unnatural rate causing glaciers to melt faster.
When it comes to carbon emissions, with just a few simple changes we can collectively help reduce the rate at which global warming is melting glaciers.
Make these few simple changes to your daily routine to lower your carbon footprint:
- Consider using alternative energy sources such as solar panels, wind turbines, geothermal energy, and biofuels such as ethanol. These sources produce clean energy that doesn’t harm the environment.
- Cars emit a lot of carbon during combustion. Driving as little as possible could greatly reduce carbon emissions. So use public transportation, carpool, cycle, walk or jog to your destination.
- Consider buying an electric car. Electric cars are battery-powered instead of relying on the highly polluting internal combustion engine.
- Save power at home by switching off lights that are not in use, unplugging electronics when they are not being used, taking shorter showers, turning off the water while brushing your teeth, and hanging laundry outside to dry.
These may seem like such little changes but cumulatively and continuously, they make a big impact and they’ll go a long way toward reducing your carbon footprint and saving the glaciers.
What Percentage of the Ice Caps Have Melted?
According to polar ice caps melting facts, 95% of the oldest and thickest ice in the Arctic has melted over the past 30 years.
What Is the Cause of Melting Ice Caps?
High levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere raise atmospheric temperatures leading to melting ice caps.
What Happens if the Ice Caps Keep Melting?
If ice caps keep melting at the rate they currently are, we could soon have no ice caps and glaciers. The more we lose our ice caps the higher the global sea level will rise, leading to more floods and severe weather changes.
To save our polar ice caps and glaciers, it’s important that we don’t underestimate the gravity of the situation. As you can see from these polar ice caps melting facts, the effects are quite serious. It’s time for us to spread awareness before we lose all our ice caps and glaciers.
You Might Also Like:
- Why Are the Polar Ice Caps Melting?
- Climate Change Facts
- Rising Sea Level Facts
Sources:
- The Guardian
- The Washington Post
- NSIDC Data
- World Wildlife Fund
- Discovering Antarctica
- British Antarctic Survey
Stella is a writer and mother from Thika, Kenya. Her love for nature and the beautiful Kenyan outdoors has inspired Stella to consciously make an effort to lead a more sustainable, eco-friendly lifestyle.
Stella - Writer
FAQs
What are the statistics of the ice caps melting? ›
Antarctica is losing ice mass (melting) at an average rate of about 150 billion tons per year, and Greenland is losing about 270 billion tons per year, adding to sea level rise.
What are some facts about melting glaciers? ›Melting glaciers add to rising sea levels, which in turn increases coastal erosion and elevates storm surge as warming air and ocean temperatures create more frequent and intense coastal storms like hurricanes and typhoons.
What percentage of the polar ice caps have melted? ›Polar ice caps are melting as global warming causes climate change. We lose Arctic sea ice at a rate of almost 13% per decade, and over the past 30 years, the oldest and thickest ice in the Arctic has declined by a stunning 95%.
What percent of glaciers have melted? ›That finding is backed up by recent research by scientists at the University of Ottawa. They examined satellite images of about 1,700 glaciers in the Northern Hemisphere, including in Canada, the U.S., Greenland and Russia. They found that 85% of the glaciers retreated between 2000 and 2020.
How fast are glaciers melting? ›The world is now on track for a 2.7-degree Celsius (4.9 degrees Fahrenheit) temperature rise since pre-industrial times, which by the year 2100 means losing 32% of the world's glacier mass, or 48.5 trillion metric tons of ice as well as 68% of the glaciers disappearing.
How much ice will melt by 2050? ›Sea ice changes are a mechanism for polar amplification. The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (2021) stated that Arctic sea ice area will likely drop below 1 million km2 in at least some Septembers before 2050.
What are 10 facts about glaciers? ›- NASA keeps a close eye on glaciers. ...
- Really old snow can form a glacier. ...
- Glaciers are really, really big. ...
- Glaciers hold a lot of water. ...
- Glaciers can flow like rivers. ...
- Glaciers carry stuff as they move. ...
- You can tell where a glacier has been. ...
- Glaciers can have a bluish tint.
The Ice Ages began 2.4 million years ago and lasted until 11,500 years ago. During this time, the earth's climate repeatedly changed between very cold periods, during which glaciers covered large parts of the world (see map below), and very warm periods during which many of the glaciers melted.
How long do glaciers have left? ›The world's glaciers are shrinking and disappearing faster than scientists thought, with two-thirds of them projected to melt out of existence by the end of the century at current climate change trends, according to a new study.
How does melting glaciers affect humans? ›Sea level rise is perhaps the most serious impact. Coastal towns and cities face increasing storm surges and becoming permanently flooded. Alongside this, the loss of freshwater from glaciers means less to drink, to water crops, or to use in generating electricity.
What will happen if all the ice melts? ›
There is still some uncertainty about the full volume of glaciers and ice caps on Earth, but if all of them were to melt, global sea level would rise approximately 70 meters (approximately 230 feet), flooding every coastal city on the planet.
What is causing glaciers to melt? ›CO2 emissions: the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) produced by industry, transport, deforestation and burning fossil fuels, amongst other human activities, warm the planet and cause glaciers to melt.
How much will sea level rise by 2050? ›By 2050, sea level along contiguous U.S. coastlines could rise as much as 12 inches (30 centimeters) above today's waterline, according to researchers who analyzed nearly three decades of satellite observations.
What percentage of sea ice has melted since 1980? ›The extent of ice loss at the top of the world, as seen by satellites, is literally the tip of the iceberg. Although the Arctic ice cap's shrinkage is often expressed in terms of area, the change in volume is just as striking.
How much ice has melted in the Arctic 2022? ›Highlights. Since satellite-based measurements began in the late 1970s, Arctic sea ice extent has decreased in all months and virtually all regions. The September 2022 ice extent was 4.87 million square kilometers (1.88 million square miles), tied with 2010 for eleventh lowest in the satellite record.
How much would oceans rise if all ice melted? ›There is still some uncertainty about the full volume of glaciers and ice caps on Earth, but if all of them were to melt, global sea level would rise approximately 70 meters (approximately 230 feet), flooding every coastal city on the planet.