Global warming devastating both poles
Rising temperatures are wreaking havoc in the Arctic and Antarctic, melting once pristine ice sheets and killing wildlife, according to two new U.S. government studies. The first report, by NASA, identified significant melting in a group of glaciers in East Antarctica, a region previously deemed stable and unaffected by climate change. Satellite imagery suggests that the height of glaciers feeding Vincennes Bay, an area due south of Australia, has dropped by nearly 10 feet since 2008—and the speed of melting is accelerating. The Vincennes Bay glaciers are crucial because they block the inland Aurora and Wilkes ice basins from falling into the sea; if both basins collapsed, sea levels could rise by up to 92 feet, submerging coastal communities around the world. Things are just as dire at the top of the planet. A study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that 2018 was the second-warmest year on record in the Arctic and the second-worst for sea ice, reports TheAtlantic.com. The world’s northernmost region is now so warm that it sheds ice even in the Arctic winter: The Bering Sea lost an area of ice the size of Idaho during two weeks in February. Toxic algae blooms, typically a warm-water phenomenon, are increasingly common in the region, fatally poisoning seals, walruses, and whales. “The Arctic,” said NOAA researcher Emily Osborne, “is experiencing the most unprecedented transition in human history.”