Global warming will allow species of flora and fauna to colonize previously uncharacteristic territories
In Russia, it was revealed that the fauna of Siberia is becoming more southern due to climate change. Global warming will allow tropical species from the Atlantic to colonize the Mediterranean Sea. Global warming is making some species of marine animals more susceptible to the spread of diseases such as avian influenza due to the animals congregating in breeding and feeding areas or changing migration patterns. Some researchers are concerned that current rates of warming could make oceans as warm and acidic as they were during the end of the Permian extinction, 250 million years ago, when up to 90 percent of marine species died out.
The Arctic could become ice-free in the 2030s, Antarctica and Greenland are melting at record rates
The Arctic will be ice-free within a decade during the summer months. A new study from the University of Colorado Boulder says the Arctic could become ice-free in August or September as early as the 2020s or 2030s. The Arctic could then remain ice-free for nine months of the year, as predicted by worst-case climate scenarios. This is largely due to the fact that sea ice, which reflects solar radiation, melts into the open ocean, which absorbs solar radiation.
Russian station “Vostok” in Antarctica explores Lake Vostok
Lake Vostok was the last major geographical discovery on Earth, and it was made by Russia. The existence of the lake under four kilometers of ice was proven in 1994. In February 2012, for the first time in human history, as a result of drilling into the ice sheet, Russian scientists reached the surface of the subglacial Lake Vostok at a depth of 3769.3 meters. The Russian research station “Vostok” is one of the most modern and well-equipped in Antarctica, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the ceremony of putting into trial operation a new wintering complex.
Antarctica: Humanity still has time to prepare for rapidly rising sea levels
Antarctica’s glaciers are melting at a catastrophic rate, but humanity still has time to prepare for rapidly rising sea levels. An international team of oceanologists has discovered that quite strong and warm currents move through large cracks in the bases of Antarctic sea glaciers, which accelerate the process of melting of these ice masses, preventing the continental glaciers of Antarctica from quickly “sliding” into the sea. The retreat of Antarctic glaciers due to rising summer temperatures has led to the melting of ancient mosses. Fossil mosses, buried under ice for several thousand years, became accessible to microorganisms and became a source of the greenhouse gas methane.
The Arctic, Antarctica and Greenland have received special attention from organizations involved in space research
The Russian satellite constellation Arktika-M, launched in 2021 and 2023, transmitted the first images of the Arctic region and surrounding areas from space. On June 30, 2011, NASA’s Terra satellite made several passes over the Arctic. ICESat-2 is the second spacecraft to study the Earth’s ice cover. The US-India satellite NISAR will begin monitoring changes in the Earth’s frozen regions in 2024.
The Earth’s South Pole is melting and cracking, and many new faults have opened in recent years
The Glenzer-Conger Glacier collapsed in East Antarctica, an area long considered stable and not greatly affected by climate change.
Anomalous temperatures were simultaneously recorded in the Arctic and Antarctica
Simultaneous significant warming was recorded at the North and South poles of the planet – the temperature at the Antarctic Concordia station, located at an altitude of 3234 meters above sea level, reached −12.2°C the day before, which is 40°C above average.
Warming continues to accelerate on its own
The accumulation of sea salt and the seepage of warm, salty seawater under ice sheets as glaciers melt accelerate the warming process.
South Pole Ice Sheet Contains Major Volcanic Activity
The scan showed that in Antarctica, 138 volcanoes rest under 3-4 km of ice, 91 of which are geologically hazardous objects.
Melting glaciers reveal unknown species and meteorite remains
Glaciers are capable of preserving information about the history of the Earth, as they trap dust particles, traces of gas, microbes and plant matter from the environment.