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ART: 'An Inconvenient Truth' by Davis Guggenheim 

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ART: 'An Inconvenient Truth' by Davis Guggenheim 

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This docufilm is based on the research of many scientists who study climate and collect data on climate change. Greenhouse effect, melting ice, floods, hurricanes, desertification are real. But the film is also about what we can do to find a solution.

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Two giant arms emerging from the water and supporting a building. This is 'Support', the installation created by Lorenzo Quinn for the 2017 Venice Biennale. The city is under threat from climate change and needs everyone's support, the artist suggests.

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ART: Andreco, 'Climate 04 – Sea Level Rise'

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ART: Andreco, 'Climate 04 – Sea Level Rise'

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What are the effects of climate change on a city like Venice? 'CLIMATE 04 - Sea Level Rise' is a mural depicting the effects of rising sea levels on the city. To realise the work, Andreco studied a lot of scientific research and mixed science and art. The idea is to raise public interest in an issue that concerns Venice and the entire planet.

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Andreco
L'artista visivo Andreco presenta a Venezia Climate 04 Sea Level Rise, il progetto tra arte e scienza sulle conseguenze dei cambiamenti climatici e sull'innalzamento del livello del mare.

04 Sea Level Rise è la quarta tappa del progetto CLIMATEe che si compone di una serie di interventi avvenuti in diverse città europee, viene presentato per la prima volta a Parigi nel novembre 2015 in occasione del Cop 21, la conferenza sui Cambiamenti Climatici delle Nazioni Unite, ed è proseguito successivamente nelle città di Bologna e Bari.

CLIMATE consiste nella realizzazione di una serie di interventi diversificati nel territorio che comprendono installazioni nello spazio urbano, dipinti murali e seminari che legano la disciplina artistica a quella scientifica in un dialogo che viene tradotto dall'artista in opere che traggono ispirazione dalle ultime ricerche scientifiche sulle cause e gli effetti dei cambiamenti climatici.

Il progetto di Andreco si caratterizza portando alla luce le vulnerabilità del territorio in cui le sue azioni si inseriscono. Se a Bari il tema principale è stato quello dell'accelerazione dei fenomeni di desertificazione dovuti all'innalzamento delle temperature, a Venezia l'artista si è concentrato sull'innalzamento del livello del mare.

La tappa di CLIMATE 04 Sea Level Rise, sceglie Venezia come simbolo di una delle città maggiormente esposte a questo rischio e, secondo le diverse previsioni attuali, potenzialmente destinata ad essere sommersa. CLIMATE 04 Sea Level Rise trae ispirazione da alcune ricerche condotte e da gruppi di ricerca internazionali e organizzazioni come The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Delta Committee, WGBU e da articoli pubblicati dal Prof. Rahmstorf e dai ricercatori del CNR-ISMAR sugli effetti dell'innalzamento medio del mare sulla laguna di Venezia.

Il progetto consiste in tre diversi interventi pensati e progettati per la città di Venezia: un grande wall painting, un'i nstallazione e un seminario sui cambiamenti climatici analizzati attraverso la disciplina artistica e scientifica.

L'intervento pittorico verrà realizzato lungo le rive del Canal Grande in Fondamenta Santa Lucia dove verranno rappresentati in chiave artistica gli studi sull'innalzamento del livello medio del mare e le onde estreme previste secondo le stime fornite dai centri di ricerca coinvolti nel progetto.

Un'altra riflessione sull'ecosistema lagunare sarà messa in evidenza dall'installazione che ospiterà alcune piante autoctone mettendo in evidenza i benefici ambientali delle piante costiere e il loro contributo nell'adattamento e mitigazione dei cambiamenti climatici e nella salvaguardia di Venezia.

Il terzo e ultimo intervento si concretizzerà in una conferenza accademica che vedrà dialogare esperti del mondo della ricerca scientifica con addetti del mondo dell'arte contemporanea al fine di portare davanti ad un vasto pubblico i concetti e le motivazioni che hanno inspirato il progetto CLIMATE 04 Sea Level Rise e stimolare un dibattito pubblico sulle cause e gli effetti dei cambiamenti climatici, tema di fondamentale importanza per la città di Venezia e per tutto il pianeta.

Il progetto nasce grazie alla proficua collaborazione tra diversi soggetti, pubblici e privati, quali: Andreco, m.a.c.lab - Ca' Foscari, Università IUAV di Venezia, CNR-ISMAR, Studio La Città, One Contemporary Art, ASLC progetti per l'arte, Regione Veneto, Grandi Stazioni, De Castelli srl, Spring Color srl e Platform Green.
Contatti:
info@andreco.org | http//www.andreco.org | http//www.climateartproject.com
PROGRAMMA: 27 ottobre 2017, h 16.30
Inaugurazione Climate 04 Sea Level Rise

Presentazione Scultura e Wall Painting

Fondamenta Santa Lucia, Venezia
30 ottobre 2017, h 14.30
Conferenza: Arte e Scienza al tempo dei cambiamenti climatici
Climate 04 Sea Level Rise - Venice
con: Università Ca'Foscari, Università Iuav di Venezia, CNR-ISMAR,

Platform Green, ASLC progetti per l'arte / One Contemporay Art, Andreco

Università Ca' Foscari - San Giobbe, Fondamenta S. Giobbe 873

Intervengono alla conferenza:

Andreco - Artista Visivo

Fabrizio Panozzo - Dipartimento di Management dell'Università Ca Foscari

Angela Vettese - Direttrice del Corso di Laurea Magistrale in Arti Visive e Moda dell'Università IUAV di Venezia

Georg Umgiesser - CNR-Ismar

Alvise Benetazzo - CNR-Ismar

Debora Bellafiore - CNR-Ismar

Andrea Lerda - Platform Green

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Climate 04 - Sea Level Rise - Venice, Italy

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Andreco L'artista visivo Andreco presenta a Venezia Climate 04 Sea Level Rise , il progetto tra arte e scienza sulle conseguenze dei cambiamenti climatici e sull'innalzamento del livello del mare.

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The title is 'Ice Watch' and consists of 12 Arctic ice blocks forming a clock. Its purpose is to create attention on climate change. The more time passes, the more the ice blocks, placed in a town square, melt like Arctic ice.
The work was first exhibited in Copenhagen in 2014 and has been re-produced in Paris and London.

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Eliasson and Minik Rosing installed 'Ice Watch' in City Hall Square, Copenhagen, from 26 to 29 October 2014 to mark the publication of the UN IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report on Climate Change. Twelve large blocks of ice that had calved from the Greenlandic ice sheet were harvested from a fjord outside Nuuk and brought to the centre of Copenhagen. Video by Anders Drug Jordan / Underground Channel.
Watch on soe.tv ⤶

In 2015 choreographer Steen Koerner, an expert in street dance and slow-motion movement, performed a quiet intervention in the circle of twelve blocks of glacial ice that Eliasson brought to the Place du Panthéon, in Paris, to draw attention to the melting of Arctic ice.
Watch on soe.tv ⤶

Olafur and Studio Wayne McGregor at Ice Watch London, 2018

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Ice Watch * Artwork * Studio Olafur Eliasson

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Official website of Olafur Eliasson and his studio: Ice Watch * Artwork * Studio Olafur Eliasson

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CITIZENSHIP - THE 2030 AGENDA: Habitat Loss - Elephant and Other Endangered Species

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CITIZENSHIP - THE 2030 AGENDA: Habitat Loss - Elephant and Other Endangered Species

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The use of natural resources and the destruction of the habitat threaten many animal species. Today, more than 41,000 species are considered endangered, including the African elephant. Hunting puts the survival of these extraordinary animals at risk. The ivory from their tusks is considered very valuable.

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When an elephant drinks, it sucks as much as 2 gallons (7.5 liters) of water into its trunk at a time. Then it curls its trunk under, sticks the tip of its trunk into its mouth, and blows. Out comes the water, right down the elephant's throat.

Since African elephants live where the sun is usually blazing hot, they use their trunks to help them keep cool. First they squirt a trunkful of cool water over their bodies. Then they often follow that with a sprinkling of dust to create a protective layer of dirt on their skin. Elephants pick up and spray dust the same way they do water-with their trunks.

Elephants also use their trunks as snorkels when they wade in deep water. An elephant's trunk is controlled by many muscles. Two fingerlike parts on the tip of the trunk allow the elephant to perform delicate maneuvers such as picking a berry from the ground or plucking a single leaf off a tree. Elephants can also use its trunk to grasp an entire tree branch and pull it down to its mouth and to yank up clumps of grasses and shove the greenery into their mouths.

When an elephant gets a whiff of something interesting, it sniffs the air with its trunk raised up like a submarine periscope. If threatened, an elephant will also use its trunk to make loud trumpeting noises as a warning.

Elephants are social creatures. They sometimes hug by wrapping their trunks together in displays of greeting and affection. Elephants also use their trunks to help lift or nudge an elephant calf over an obstacle, to rescue a fellow elephant stuck in mud, or to gently raise a newborn elephant to its feet. And just as a human baby sucks its thumb, an elephant calf often sucks its trunk for comfort. One elephant can eat 300 pounds (136 kilograms) of food in one day.

People hunt elephants mainly for their ivory tusks. Adult females and young travel in herds, while adult males generally travel alone or in groups of their own.

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When an elephant drinks, it sucks as much as 2 gallons (7.5 liters) of water into its trunk at a time. Then it curls its trunk under, sticks the tip of its trunk into its mouth, and blows. Out comes the water, right down the elephant's throat.

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CITIZENSHIP - THE 2030 AGENDA: Goal 15 Life on Land

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CITIZENSHIP - THE 2030 AGENDA: Goal 15 Life on Land

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Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.

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Goal 15: Life on land - The Global Goals

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Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.

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CITIZENSHIP - THE 2030 AGENDA: Climate Change Effects on Dolphins

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CITIZENSHIP - THE 2030 AGENDA: Climate Change Effects on Dolphins

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Global warming and rising sea levels threaten the lives of dolphins. Warming seas push dolphins into deeper waters. But in the deep sea there is less food for them while rising sea levels have led to the extinction of some dolphin species living in river deltas.

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Dolphins environment - TAF - The Animal Fund

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Climate change is expected to affect whales, dolphins, and porpoises mainly through the loss of habitat (given the distinct temperature-linked ranges of most species), changes in food availability, potential increased competition from range expansions of other species. The potential impacts include changes in abundance, distribution, timing, and range of migration, prey abundance, and distribution, and reproductive success and, ultimately, survival.

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CITIZENSHIP - THE 2030 AGENDA: Goal 14 Life Below Water

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CITIZENSHIP - THE 2030 AGENDA: Goal 14 Life Below Water

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Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

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Goal 14: Life below water - The Global Goals

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Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

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CITIZENSHIP - THE 2030 AGENDA: Goal 13 Climate Action

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CITIZENSHIP - THE 2030 AGENDA: Goal 13 Climate Action

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Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

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Goal 13: Climate action - The Global Goals

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Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

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CITIZENSHIP - THE 2030 AGENDA: Greta Thunberg and Fridays for Future

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CITIZENSHIP - THE 2030 AGENDA: Greta Thunberg and Fridays for Future

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She started her battle alone in 2018. Since then she has gone on strike every Friday to demonstrate for the climate. At first they looked at her with diffidence but slowly many other young people joined her. Today, Fridays for Future is a global movement that continues to demonstrate to demand concrete action against climate change and for the environment.
'I am Greta' is the documentary that narrates the birth of this incredible movement.

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I Am Greta • Trailer (Official) • A Hulu Original Documentary

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In some countries renewable energies have completely replaced fossil resources. Like in Iceland. Reykjavík uses geothermal energy to heat houses, offices, schools and even swimming pools.

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Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Station in Iceland. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_energy. Author: Gretar Ívarsson, geologist at Nesjavellir

Geothermal energy is the heat energy inside the earth's interior. Most of this heat energy comes from radioactive decay processes within the earth's interior. The remaining heat energy comes from heat that was trapped inside the earth's interior when the earth was formed about 4.6 billion years ago.

The easiest way to access this heat is with "vents" close to the surface of the earth. These vents serve as "hot spots" in which the heat inside the earth has entered into natural cavities which are only a few miles (or much less) below the earth's surface. Few places on earth have this natural geographic advantage. Iceland is one of those places. It has abundant geothermal energy resources.

The geothermal heat in Iceland is used to heat the water used in homes and buildings. This means that hot water tanks in homes and buildings are not needed as a result. This heat is also used to heat the inside of homes and buildings when the weather is cold.

This heat can also be used to heat water and produce high-pressure steam for running large turbines in power generating plants. These large turbines generate the electricity used in homes and buildings. The temperature required to produce this high-pressure steam needs to be several hundred degrees Celsius. However, the temperature inside the earth is more than enough to satisfy this temperature requirement. If you go deep enough inside the earth the temperature is thousands of degrees! The figure below gives you a visual idea of how geothermal power generation works.

Even though the heat energy inside the earth is more than enough to supply all of our energy needs on earth, the main drawback is that you normally have to drill a hole many miles deep into the earth in order to access this heat from the surface. Right now this represents a technological challenge we can't yet overcome. So unless the heat is naturally close enough to the earth's surface, such as in Iceland and other volcanically rich areas, it is too difficult and expensive to make drilling worthwhile.

Return to Physics For Kids page

Return to Real World Physics Problems home page

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Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Station in Iceland. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_energy. Author: Gretar Ívarsson, geologist at Nesjavellir Geothermal energy is the heat energy inside the earth's interior. Most of this heat energy comes from radioactive decay processes within the earth's interior. The remaining heat energy comes from heat that was trapped inside the earth's interior when the earth was formed about 4.6 billion years ago.

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Until now, we have used energy sources such as coal and oil. Now these resources are being rapidly consumed. That is why we have to find new alternative energy sources. Nature offers some that have the advantage of being renewable. Find out what they are.

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Renewables are made from natural resources on our planet, like wind, water, and sunlight. They are incredibly valuable energy sources, also known as "clean energy" as they do not pollute the environment. -
Renewables come from our planet's unlimited sources of energy, like wind, sunlight, waves, and the earth's internal heat. Here are 5 main sources of renewable energy and why they are so important to us.

5 Main Sources of Renewable Energy
Solar Energy
This is energy produced directly from sunlight through smart solar panels placed outside of buildings facing the sun. Solar can be used to heat up buildings, water, and be turned into electricity.
Wind Energy
The blades of large windmills are moved by the power of the wind. These blades spin a turbine inside a generator to produce electricity. There are over 341,000 wind turbines on the planet spread across 83 countries.
Hydroelectric Power
Water from dams and rivers can be used to spin powerful turbines and generate what we call hydroelectricity. Several provinces in Canada produce over 90% of their energy through hydropower and the country is one of the largest global consumers of this energy source along with China and Brazil.
Geothermal Energy
Huge pumps extract the heat and steam from below the Earth - mainly from volcanoes and geysers - and use these to heat up homes and buildings as well as to generate electricity. About 25% of the total electricity of Iceland is produced by geothermal energy, thanks to the country's several hot springs.
Biomass Energy
This is the oldest source of renewable energy on the planet. With biomass, we refer to all organic matter that has stored energy through the process of photosynthesis. Think wood, crops, seaweed, and animal wastes. This energy is converted to electricity and heat. In the United States, the majority of biomass energy comes from wood.

Fun Facts About Renewable Energy

In 2020, around 29% of the global energy came from renewable technologies.

Some countries like Albania, Paraguay, and Iceland obtain all of their energy from renewable sources. Norway relies nearly 97% of its electricity from hydropower.

Some renewable energy sources can have environmental impacts, but they are a less polluting and more environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels like coal and natural gas.

Solar is the most abundant energy source on Earth.

An hour and a half of sunlight that reaches the planet's surface can generate enough power to meet all of humanity's energy consumption for an entire year .

One wind turbine can produce enough electricity to light up almost 600 homes .

Wind turbines are very complicated machines that can have as many as 8,000 different components.

Why Is Renewable Energy so Important?

Renewables are an essential source of energy for the future and one of the world's most important allies in the race to stop global warming and reach net-zero emissions. They are much cleaner sources and have a very minimal environmental footprint than fossil fuels like coal and natural gas. Another good thing about renewables is that they are endless: while resources of coal and gas are finite, the wind will never stop blowing and the sun will never stop shining! This is amazing news, as we can rely on these energy sources for a very long time.
Check This Out Next: What is Nuclear Energy?

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What is Renewable Energy? - Earth.Org Kids

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Renewable energy is an incredibly valuable energy source. Also known as "clean energy", they do not pollute the environment.

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Land, sea and air polution
Deforestation
Greenhouse effect
Floods
Desertification
Drought
Melting ice caps
Ozone hole

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World Rainforest Day was established in 2017. Every year on 22 June we celebrate this important environment that is home to most living species, provides us with oxygen and influences the climate.
Here are five things about rainforests that perhaps not everyone knows.

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Happy World Rainforest Day! On this day, we celebrate the importance of tropical rainforests. From providing the habitat to millions of plants and animal species to influencing weather patterns and ensuring that our air is clean, here are 5 stunning rainforest facts for kids to learn. -
5 Rainforest Facts for Kids
1. Rainforests Take Their Name from the Abundant Rainfall They Experience
Rainforests experience between 200 to 1,000 centimetres (79 to 394 inches) of rain every year. However, rain is not the only factor that influences the climate in these areas. Plants also have a self-watering mechanism: they release water into the atmosphere through a process known as transpiration . The moisture they generate helps create a thick cloud cover that hangs over the forest, guaranteeing constant humid and warm conditions even when it's not raining.
2. The Amazon Rainforest is More than Half the Size of the US
Spread across nine countries in South America - including Brazil, Peru, and Colombia - for a total of 2.3 million square miles (6 million square kilometres), the Amazon Rainforest is by far the largest rainforest in the world. In fact, it is three times bigger than the next-largest rainforest, the Congo Basin.
3. Rainforests are Home to Half of the World's Plant and Animal Species
Rainforests cover just about 2% of the planet's total surface area. Yet, they are home to millions of animal and plant species. The Amazon rainforest alone includes at least 10% of the Earth's total biodiversity, including around 40,000 plant species, nearly 1,300 birds, 3,000 types of fish, more than 400 species of mammals, and a staggering 2.5 million different insects.
4. Deforestation Contributes Nearly 5 Billion Tonnes of Carbon Dioxide A Year
The equivalent of 10% of annual human emissions is a direct result of deforestation. Besides , rainforests are considered the world's largest carbon sinks for their capacity to absorb more carbon from the atmosphere than they release through a process known as photosynthesis. However, as a result of climate change and human activities such as logging and cattle ranging, rainforests are shrinking and thus losing their power to absorb carbon. The

Amazon rainforest, the world's most important carbon sink, is now emitting a greater amount of carbon dioxide than it is absorbing, nearly one billion tonnes a year , equivalent to the annual emissions of Japan.
5. An Average of 137 Species of Plants and Animals are Driven Into Extinction Every Day in the World's Tropical Rainforests
Deforestation and increasing wildfire events are destroying more natural habitats every day, threatening the survival of many important and rare species. Human activities are further shrinking tropical rainforests, contributing to the loss of millions of hectares every year. As trees are cut down, animals lose their habitat and struggle to survive. In the Amazon alone, over 10,000 species are threatened with extinction .

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5 Stunning Rainforest Facts For Kids - Earth.Org Kids

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Happy World Rainforest Day! On this day, we celebrate the importance of tropical rainforests. From providing the habitat to millions of plants and animal species to influencing weather patterns and ensuring that our air is clean, here are 5 stunning rainforest facts for kids to learn. - 1.

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The Amazon rainforest plays a very important role for the climate. It absorbs carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas responsible for the rise in temperature, and reduces its concentration in the atmosphere.
However, deforestation is menacing this environment, with serious consequences for the entire planet.

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Trees and other green plants produce oxygen, the gas needed by humans and other animals to live. When trees are cut down, less oxygen is released into the atmosphere.

Trees also capture carbon dioxide, one of the gases that contribute to a problem known as global warming. When they are burned, trees release carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere.

Erosion

Deforestation on steep mountain hillsides can lead to erosion. The land can get worn away because the trees are not there to hold the soil together. Heavy rains in such areas can wash the land down the slopes in disastrous landslides that destroy fields, homes, and human lives.

Habitat Loss

Many forests are peaceful, quiet places where people can rest or play. When trees are cut down, this recreational use of forests is lost.

Forests are home to an enormous range of living things. When an area is deforested, many plants and animals are killed. Others lose their habitats. Some types of living things become extinct because of deforestation, especially those that live in tropical rainforests. The traditional way of life for rainforest peoples can be greatly affected by deforestation.

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Deforestation is the clearing, or cutting down, of forests. The word is normally used to describe the actions of humans in removing forests from the planet, rather than...

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The Arctic is the home of the polar bear. Climate change puts its habitat at risk. If the polar bear's natural environment changes or disappears, its survival is also at risk.
Learn more about the polar bear and the risks that threaten its habitat.

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Before 1973

Polar bears are an integral part of the Arctic ecosystem and the food web for Indigenous Peoples - who have hunted polar bears sustainably for millennia. But, beginning in the 1700s, large-scale hunting by European, Russian and North American hunters and trappers took place, raising concerns about the future survival of polar bears. Unregulated commercial and recreational hunting continued until the 1970s.

1973

Canada, the United States, Denmark, Norway and the former USSR signed the International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears and their Habitat, strictly regulating commercial hunting.

The US Government classified the Polar Bear under its Endangered Species Act (ESA).
2005
The polar bear was upgraded from Least Concern to Vulnerable by the the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group.
2013
Ministers and other leaders from the five polar bear range states met in Moscow for the first International Forum on Polar Bear Conservation. The leaders made significant commitments to address issues of polar bear habitat, research and trade. This event was supported by WWF.

Today

Today, polar bears are among the few large carnivores that are still found in roughly their original habitat and range-and in some places, in roughly their natural numbers.

Although most of the world's 19 populations have returned to healthy numbers, there are differences between them. Some are stable, some seem to be increasing, and some are decreasing due to various pressures.

Status of the polar bear populations
Updated 2021 with data from the IUCN Polar Bear Specialists Group:

3 populations are in decline
2 populations are increasing
4 populations are stable
10 populations are data-deficient (information missing or outdated)

In the future

By 2040, scientists predict that only a fringe of ice will remain in Northeast Canada and Northern Greenland when all other large areas of summer ice are gone. This "Last Ice Area" is likely to become important for polar bears and other life that depends on ice.

A projection of sea ice in the archipelago, supported by WWF, shows that much of the region is facing significant ice loss in the coming decades - with potentially serious consequences for polar bears.
Global polar bear numbers are projected to decline by 30% by 2050.

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How many polar bears are there? See current polar bear populations, IUCN Red List status by country and timeline of polar bear conservation.

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Greenland is 80% covered by ice. But due to climate change, the ice is melting faster than before. Scientists have verified that this is happening seven times faster. This has consequences for the inhabitants and the entire ecosystem.

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The Arctic is warming more rapidly than other regions. For example, while Earth's average temperature has increased by one degree Fahrenheit over the past century, air temperature in Greenland has increased by about seven degrees Fahrenheit since 1991. Because warming is more rapid in the Arctic, the impacts are much more pronounced.

Greenland sits between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans and is almost entirely covered with ice. A massive ice sheet blankets about 80% of the land surface, but in recent decades, the ice has been getting thinner, glaciers are retreating at the edges of the ice sheet, and it is melting at its top.

Rocky ridges and the Greenland Ice Sheet.
NASA

Earth's warming climate means that overall Greenland loses more ice than it gains each year. Warmer temperatures mean more melt days. During summer, temperatures are warm enough for ice on the surface of the Greenland ice sheet to melt in many places. Warmer temperatures have lead to more days of melting ice. Areas losing the most ice are located in southern Greenland and along the margin of the ice sheet. Greenland is currently losing 234 billion tons of ice per year. That's enough ice to pack into 6,324 Empire State Buildings. Ice is melting seven times faster now than it was in the 1990s.

Greenland's accelerating rate of ice melt is one of many major changes in the region. The amount of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has been decreasing in recent decades. Permafrost in Arctic tundra has been thawing rapidly too. And warming is causing changes to Arctic ecosystems and human communities.

Does this look like Greenland to you? These researchers are studying a lake on top of the Greenland ice sheet. Lakes like this one are becoming increasingly common as warmer temperatures cause melting on the surface of the ice sheet.
Joughin/UW Polar Science Center

All that melt water has to go somewhere.

Researchers were amazed to discover that melt ponds at the surface of the ice can disappear entirely in an hour or two. The water drains from the pond to the bottom of the ice sheet via chutes through the ice called moulins. Glaciologists suspect that melt water that flows to the bottom of the ice sheet through the moulins reduces friction, allowing the ice to move more quickly over the rocky surface. Researchers have noticed that the number of moulins is increasing.

As the glacier accelerates, it pushes ice into the ocean. The melt water draining to the bottom of the ice through moulins causes the ice to slip more quickly towards the ocean - a bit like slipping on a banana peel. Outlet glaciers, the routes that ice takes towards the sea, are moving more quickly now than they were in the past. For example, a large outlet glacier on the west side of Greenland, called the Jacobshavn Glacier, has nearly doubled its speed in the last decade. The flow velocity of other glaciers has increased by up to 50% during the summer melt period.

So the melt water contributes to rising sea level in two ways: (1) water from the ice surface finds its way to the ocean, contributing directly to sea level rise, and (2) the water's ability to speed flowing glacial ice towards the ocean also contributes to sea level rise. If all the ice that is on Greenland were to melt or calve into the ocean, global sea level would rise 7.2 meters (23.6 feet). Melting Greenland ice increases global sea level by at least 0.5 millimeters each year, though recent studies suggest this rate may be increasing. Scientists anticipate that even if greenhouse gas emissions could be cut to zero in the 2020s, Greenland's melting ice would still contribute to at least 0.27 meters (0.90 feet) of sea level rise over the next century.

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The Arctic is warming more rapidly than other regions. For example, while Earth's average temperature has increased by one degree Fahrenheit over the past century, air temperature in Greenland has increased by about seven degrees Fahrenheit since 1991. Because warming is more rapid in the Arctic, the impacts are much more pronounced.

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Antarctica is a giant scientific laboratory. There are 80 scientific bases. Here, scientists from all over the world work together and study phenomena that affect not only Antarctica. In fact, in Antarctica there are ideal conditions for studying the oceans, the Earth's climate and also space.

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Climate Science in Antarctica - Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition

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For many years, the majority of Antarctic science took place on national Antarctic expeditions, whose primary objective was not science but exploration. Today, most Antarctic science takes place on national Antarctic research bases, or stations, which are scattered across the Antarctic continent. There are around 80 scientific bases across Antarctica, operated by around 30 different countries.

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Antarctica is a cold and inhospitable place for humans. But many animal species live here. In addition, Antarctica plays a role in climate conservation and can be our friend in the fight against climate change.

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It is said that human nature will destroy nature and humans. Today, the presence of what some call "the Earth's greatest enemy" can be seen almost everywhere. But Antarctica is a natural treasure that can still be saved.

This white continent is a paradise for scientists and wildlife, but its harsh conditions make it uninhabitable for humans. However, not even the most remote place on earth has been spared from man-made damage. Climate change stares you in the face in Antarctica.

Understanding what this amazing continent means for the Earth - and for us - is the key to learning how to take better care of it. So here's what Antarctica does for us every day and why it's so important to protect it.

It's helping the Earth cool down

If it wasn't for Antarctica, life on Earth would certainly be very different. The Southern Ocean, which surrounds the continent, is helping to slow down the rate of climate change by absorbing as much as 75 per cent of the excess heat. It's also capturing 35 per cent of the CO2 taken up by the global oceans and distributing nutrients all over the world.

"The Southern Ocean connects all of the world's ocean basins", says Andrea Kavanagh, director of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Conservation at The Pew Charitable Trusts.

"These cold, deep currents go around the entire world, bringing their cooling waters to regulate temperatures. Those same waters also carry nutrients that go far beyond the equator, feeding fish and people around the world."

But swallowing the world's CO2 and heat comes at a price.

Between 1989 and 2018, Antarctica warmed up by about 1.8 degrees Celsius, which is three times the global average.

In 2020, it recorded a new record temperature of 18.3 degrees Celsius. The ocean is also experiencing water acidification, deoxygenation and marine heatwaves due to the increase in CO2 and temperatures.

It's key for marine biodiversity

You probably didn't know that Antarctica and the Southern Ocean contain 90 per cent of the world's ice and 70 per cent of the planet's freshwater.

There are also still many species to be discovered in all this white wealth, and scientists make new discoveries all the time.

There are many vital species that we already know of, though. The Antarctic krill, for instance, is a small creature that is considered a keystone species. This means it holds an entire ecosystem together.

"There are so many species that eat krill and every species that doesn't eat krill eat something that eats krill," says Kavanagh.

But krill fishing has become an increasingly lucrative and booming industry and has almost tripl ed since the 1980s.

Industrial-scale fishing, together with warming water, is impacting its population. As a result, krills are heading further south to seek safer waters. This, in turn, could have disastrous consequences on the ocean's food chain, says Kavanagh.

"Without krill, we won't have the vibrant, incredible life that we're used to seeing in Antarctica."

It's a great place for discoveries

Antarctica is also one of the most crucial natural laboratories and the place to be for scientists from all over the world. Thousands of them come here every year to conduct studies on the Earth's system, space, and climate change, among many other topics.

"The more climate research that is done, the more it demonstrates how quickly we need to act. We're moving closer and closer to tipping points where there'll be no return," warns Kavanagh.

Can we save Antarctica by creating new Marine Protected Areas?

For Kavanagh, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) could stop us from reaching the point of no return.

MPAs are becoming increasingly popular all over the world because they can help many marine species recover, especially those that have been heavily exploited by fishing. Those who advocate for them, say they can help the ocean to be more resilient to environmental changes and recover more rapidly. Some studies even say they can benefit fishermen.

"There's a huge spill-over effect in an MPA. So there's more fish beyond the border of the MPA than there is normally. So these MAPs will actually even help the fishermen," explains Kavanagh.

But MPAs also have their critics. Some believe that banning fishing does not reduce fishing pressure, but rather shifts it to another area and harms fishing economies. To avoid this, MPAs have to be part of a broader strategy. Fisheries also need to be better managed to ensure MPAs succeed.

MPAs can also help to protect Antarctica against another threat: tourism. Between October 2019 and April 2020, the International Association of Antarctica Tours Operators registered 73,991 visitors. During the 1992-1993 season, it counted less than 7,000.

But how humans get to Antarctica is another issue. Cruises to Antarctica are becoming popular, posing a real threat to the Southern Ocean's waters.

Although MPAs are a big step towards Antarctica's recovery, they are not enough to save it. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and combating illegal fishing is also key to achieving this. For this, strong international cooperation and regulations are needed and governments should respect ambitious climate targets.

Will Antarctica have new MPAs soon?

Currently, there are only two MPAs in the Southern Ocean: one in the Ross Sea, and the other in the Southern Orkney Islands southern shelf. But this might change soon.

The European Union, alongside the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), has proposed to create two new large-scale marine protected areas in Antarctica's waters: one in East Antarctica and another in the Weddell Sea.

But so far, the decision has been blocked by China and Russia over concerns that this might affect fisheries. There is also a third proposal from Argentina and Chile to create an MPA in the Antarctic Peninsula.

Currently, only 7.72 per cent of the world's ocean is covered by MPAs. If approved, these three proposals would protect as much as around 1 per cent of the world's ocean.

This could also be a step in achieving the international target of protecting 30 per cent of the oceans by 2030. As a matter of fact, the goal was to protect at least 10 per cent of the world's ocean by 2020, but governments failed to achieve the target. Will they make it this time?

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How Antarctica is helping in the climate fight and how to protect it

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It is said that human nature will destroy nature and humans. Today, the presence of what some call "the Earth's greatest enemy" can be seen almost everywhere. But Antarctica is a natural treasure that can still be saved. This white continent is a paradise for scientists and wildlife, but its harsh conditions make it uninhabitable for humans.