The model showed that the melting of glaciers will accelerate 30 times with a warming of 1.8 degrees
The rate of melting of glaciers in the Arctic and Antarctic will increase many times over with climate warming by 1.8 degrees. It is reported by TASS.
These conclusions were made by scientists from the South Korean Institute for Basic Research led by Axel Timmermann. “If humanity fails to keep warming at around 1.8 degrees Celsius, then the ice massifs of Greenland and West Antarctica will break up and begin to melt rapidly. If we do nothing, these processes alone will lead to sea level rise by at least a meter in the next 130 years,” the climatologists explained.
The authors came to such conclusions while studying a computer model of Greenland and Antarctic glaciers. The effect of temperature on the melting process is non-linear, since even a relatively small warming disrupts the structure of the ice. Cracks, splits and accumulation of water (“puddles”) appear in it, which additionally accelerate the melting and move the ice towards the sea. It also contributes to the formation of icebergs.
According to calculations, a temperature increase of 1.8 degrees will start a chain reaction that is almost impossible to stop. Because of it, the rate of ice melting will increase abruptly and will be 30 times higher than the current rate for at least a century and a half. This will lead to complex ecological and climatic changes, as well as flooding of coastal lowlands.
Previously, scientists have proposed to stop mining gold in order to combat global warming.
