Another important indicator, the “daily ice extent” in Antarctica “has also reached an all-time low, surpassing the previous record of February 2022″, reported the monitoring service.
ADVERTISING
The United States National Ice and Snow Data Center (NSIDC) had already warned last month of a reduction in ice mass, but announced a smaller surface area of 1,79 million km2.
The service Copernicus attributed the divergence of data to “different algorithms” for measuring the area.
The extent of ice over the South Pole ocean decreases and is cyclically replenished every year, with variations each season, but the reduction detected by European and American monitoring services has become more intense.
ADVERTISING
A reduction in sea ice represents a rise in sea level, because it is salt water that was simply frozen.
But when it thaws, this barrier reveals the large frozen continental mass, which suffers the effects of the ocean. This ice is freshwater and, if it thaws, it could cause a catastrophe.
Sea ice has another important role, the so-called albedo effect, the amount of solar radiation that a given surface reflects back into the atmosphere. As it melts, it is replaced by the dark mass of the ocean, which absorbs more light, which causescontributes to climate change.
ADVERTISING
According to data from the Copernicus, the area of Antarctic sea ice in February this year was 34% below average, thus beating the monthly record set in February 2017.
This is the eighth consecutive year that the phenomenon of melting has occurred, exceeding the recorded historical average.
(To AFP)
Read also
Receive news and newsletters do Curto News by Telegram e WhatsApp.
ADVERTISING
