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[chimes]
Q: We have with us
Dr. Carlos del Castillo, who will discuss what is happening in the Arctic this summer.
Thanks for coming to the program.A: Thank you for the invitation.
Q: Last year was a record year for sea ice loss in the Arctic.
What will happen this year?
A: This year, fortunately, the amount of ice that we've lost so far will not compare with
what was lost last year, but that does not mean that the Arctic is recovering.
Compared to the average, in the last 10
years we have lost a chunk of ice equivalent to
1.5 times the area of Texas.
Besides the loss we are seeing in the ice that is on the ocean,
we are also losing large amounts of ice in Greenland and
in the permafrost regions.
Q: So the long-term trend is a continued decline?
A: Yes, the long-term trend is a decrease in the ice cover of the Arctic.
The satellite data shows that the ice has been
declining consistently year after year.
Clearly, there are fluctuations: some years there is more ice than other years,
but the trend we see in our satellite and field measurements
is unfortunately a steady decline.
Q: But the Arctic is far away. How does the melting of sea ice affect us in the United States?
A: Excellent question. The polar
The polar ice caps function as the air conditioner of the planet.
Heated air is generated in the tropics and
is cooled at the poles. When we lose this ability
to cool air in the polar areas, in this case in the Arctic,
we can experience variations in the location of the jet stream.
This can result in flow patterns
of air masses that can for example block
the movement of hot air and result in
a heat wave, or result in ice storms, snow storms
In general, what we would experience would be extreme
weather conditions. Weather conditions that are new to us.
Q: Sea ice does not affect
sea level rise, but land ice does.
Could you explain what is happening in Greenland?
A: Yes, that’s correct. The ice covers the ocean, as in the case of the Arctic, when it melts, it does not change
sea level. But the ice is in Greenland, which is extremely
thick, is starting to melt at an accelerated pace.
For example, last year we had an large surface melting event
and even in the coldest regions in the north of Greenland,
we are experiencing an increase in the speed of movement
of the ice that goes from land to ocean,
which will obviously increase the volume [of the ocean] and will increase sea level.
Q: But meanwhile, in the opposite pole of Earth,
we are seeing an increase in the extent of sea ice in Antarctica. Can you explain why
this is happening, does is have anything to do with global warming?
A: Yes, absolutely. First of all, the
Arctic and Antarctica are very different. The Arctic is an ocean surrounded
by continents, and ice is floating in the water. In the case of
Antarctica, it is a huge continent with ice on land,
and the ocean is surrounding the land.
In Antarctica, we have seen a small increase
in the amount of the sea ice surrounding the continent, but
we have observed substantial decreases in the amount
of ice that is on the continent, particularly in the west.
In the eastern part of the continent, ices has somewhat
increased, but in the west it has declined further, particularly in the Antarctic Peninsula,
and we are experiencing a net loss of ice.
Q: Usually when people think of NASA, they think of space exploration, but NASA is also looking
at what is happening on the planet. Could you explain what NASA does to better understand
what is happening in the Arctic?
A: Absolutely. Space is one of the best places to study planet Earth, because we're seeing
it from the perspective of being off the planet. NASA has a fleet of over
20 satellites that are devoted to study different aspects
of the planet: the atmosphere, ocean, land...
And sometimes all together. We also have expeditions
in which we use aircraft that carry fantastic tools: combinations of laser
and radar that can measure not only the thickness of the ice,
but even the thickness of the snow on top
of the ice. And this allows us to not only determine the area
that the ice is covering, but also the thickness [of the ice], which is very important
in order to determine the changes in this region of the planet.
Q: Thanks for the explanations, this is all fascinating.
Could you tell our viewers where they can go to learn more about these topics?
A: Absolutely. They can
visit nasa.gov / Earth
We also have a Twitter page in Spanish that can be found at
@NASA_ES
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