Latest ice research reveals melt impact
The effect of melting ice sheets in both the Antarctic and Greenland could trigger more unpredictable weather, research shows.
Global temperatures could rise by 3 to 4 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century. However, the combined effects of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheet melt on climate have not been widely explored.
Victoria University of Wellington associate professor, researcher Nick Golledge said the findings were already affecting the world, and it was time for people to make changes.
‘‘The most important thing for people to realise is that these changes are already happening,’’ he said. ‘‘The best time to start is yesterday.’’
Researchers used satellite measurements of recent ice mass changes and found that within decades, meltwater will slow the ocean circulation in the Atlantic, which carries warm water from the tropics into the North Atlantic.
Over time, climate variability could increase by up to 50 per cent in some regions.
Research found Antarctic meltwater will form a freshwater lens on the ocean surface, allowing rising water to spread out.
‘‘It’s a case now of doing everything we can to limit the damage,’’ Golledge said.
Current Government policy was based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, but Golledge said research was now moving beyond that.
‘‘The current predictions that the Government are using aren’t taking into account the impact on the oceans.’’
Golledge’s research paper said Government policies were committed to surface warming of 3C to 4C by 2100, which will lead to enhanced ice-sheet melt.
Golledge said New Zealand was in a good place to make change, and action like the Zero Carbon Act was a positive step.
‘‘We need hard and pervasive changes across all of society.’’