Antarctica, the continent characterized by ice, is turning green. Images taken from space in a four-decade-long study have revealed the unfortunate reality of climate change’s impact on Earth’s southern pole.
The study was published October 4 by Nature Geoscience and conducted by the University of Exeter and Hertfordshire in England and the British Antarctic Survey. Since its publication it has been receiving lots of press due to the severity of climate consequences it’s presented. The big finding is the increase in plant life, mostly mosses, 10-fold over the last 40 years. This is Antarctica’s reality as a result of continental temperatures rising at an even higher rate than that of the global average.
Tomas Roland of Exeter University and one of the study authors depicts the true scope of anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change “Even on the Antarctic Peninsula – this most extreme, remote and isolated ‘wilderness’ region – the landscape is changing, and these effects are visible from space.” Roland highlights an important point, that even in the most isolated and coldest part of the world, the effects of a warming planet are strongly felt, adding that Antarctica, has also experienced extreme heat events.
Scientists fear that this rapid-paced change could upset fragile ecosystems. Courtesy of Nature Geoscience of Independent News.
Using the satellite images researchers were able to measure the multiplication of vegetation in the Antarctic Peninsula. In 1986, less than 1 square kilometer of green space could be found. Recent 2021 images show what drastic a change has occurred, with close to 12 square kilometers of Antarctic green coverage observable. Though most of Antarctica still remains covered by ice and rocks, this change in its ecosystem must not be overlooked, and scientists are already becoming concerned about the threat of invasive species.
Snow algae, a species of green algae that thrives in frigid conditions has been multiplying with warmer Antarctic temperatures and can be seen on the glacier pictured above. Courtesy of Anagha Srikanth, The Hill.
Another study on climate change in Antarctica by scientists at Dartmouth College reveals projections for carbon emissions leading to ice loss over the next 300 years. Using data from 16 ice-sheet models they found consistent results predicting a steady ice loss up to 2100. Where these models diverge, however, is following the turn of the century. If carbon emissions are left unchecked, the projections portray a strong possibility that Antarctica’s ice sheets could collapse entirely by 2300, increasing sea levels by over five feet(1.5 meters). The study’s lead author, Hélèn Seroussi, warns that once the glacier retreat begins “nothing can stop or slow it down,” calling for immediate action that must be taken now to prevent irreversible damage including the destruction of coastal communities.
Ninety-nine percent of the continent of Antarctica is made up of glacier ice.
The green moss spreading throughout Antarctica must be seen as a red warning sign by the Natural Research Council of the United Kingdom.
Moss is an early phase of what later becomes soil production, on which more complex ecosystems can develop. Although the future for Antarctica is not definite, the current rate of global warming indicates that unless drastic changes are made on a global level the fragile ecosystem of Antarctica will melt into extinction.
Featured image: Satellite Images show plant life spreading across Antarctica with temperatures rising dramatically by Tom Roland, CNN News.
