
Negative record for Arctic ice
The ice of the North Pole is alarmingly reduced . This is stated by the most recent data collected by NASA and processed by the National data and ice data center.
This impressive video shows the trend of melting Arctic ice in recent years. In 2018 they reached their minimum annual extension on September 19th and then again on September 23rd.
At this stage, Arctic ice covered only a surface of 4 million and a half square kilometers . This is the sixth lowest value since measurements were taken with this methodology. Even worse, all the lowest values have been recorded over the last decade.
Melting ice, the word to scientists
The NASA is now able to measure the thickness of the ice layers to the millimeter, capturing even minimal variations. In addition, it measures the slope of the ice and the width of the ice caps .
To monitor our planet's state of health more and more reliably, the new ICESat-2 satellite was launched on 15 September . The mission will last three years and will focus on four objectives:
> understand how the melting of ice contributes to sea level rise;
> monitor the changes in the mass of ice in the different regions;
> measure the variations in thickness of sea ice;
> calculate the amount of vegetation in the forests.
Scholars in the meantime mobilize to find solutions, even drastic ones. An article published in The Cryosphere, the journal of the European Geosciences Union, suggests that one day it will be possible to build huge underwater walls that prevent hot water from reaching the polar ice caps.
If until recently hypotheses like these could seem like science fiction, now it seems that geoengineering is working seriously on it.
The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation projects
There is not much time left. As the latest report from the ICCP (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) shows, we still have 12 years to limit the progress of climate change.
If we fail to do so, we will be faced with increasingly frequent natural disasters (from hurricanes to drought) and the extinction of numerous species, especially polar bears. In different areas of the planet, populations will be forced to migrate to survive.
The actor Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the celebrities who have decided to spend themselves in the first place to safeguard the planet.
On the one hand, DiCaprio provides its visibility and its work: its documentary, Before the Flood, has been around the world. On the other hand, it has opened a foundation ( Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation ) that selects and supports worthy projects.
One of them is Dark Snow, a research and scientific dissemination project that monitors the presence of carbon particulate in Arctic ice. This is one of the most obvious manifestations of the pollution that causes global warming.
The challenge we face is arduous and involves everyone in the first place: scientists, governments, companies, citizens . Everyone has to do his part with determination, before it's too late.