Welcome Dr. Donald Perovich
Don Perovich is a research geophysicis specializing in the arctic sea ice. Though Don is a brilliant man who has done incredible things in his field he came to class with a neutral ton towards the facts he told us and we unwilling to tell us his opinion. As an educator this technique is very good. Though as a whole we wanted to learn more about what was being done about the melting sea ice, as most of us have the knowledge he told us already.
"The Arctic is an indicator and amplifier of climate change"- Don Perovich
The arctic sea ice is only a few meters thick with snow cover 9 to 10 months of the year. How the measure the ices thickness and location is through ship records, traditional people, and most importantly currently are satellites. that can measure large areas of ice.
When looking at sea ice cover there has been a downward trend, topping at a low in 2007 with a 9% decrease in cover.
Many people argue that the size of the ice cover is changing all the time so that there is actually no decrease in size, it is just a change in the seasons. It is true that the seasons do change the size of the ice sheet but there has been a decrease in the average size.
Ice-Albedo Feedback
sunlight (times) ocean area (times) ocean albedo (.07) the amount of light the ocean absorbs = sunlight absorbed into the ocean
As the ice melts there is less ice to reflect the sunlight so more of the heat is being absorbed by the ocean, warming it. This is a cycle that once started would or is extremely hard to reverse.
The Future Holds......
"When will the ice retreat until it affects the ecosystem and us.......?
NOW!!"
Not only is the melting sea ice affecting the polar bears which everyone knows about. There are now also resources to be exploited. And which country wons what is the big question.
Though the melting ice wont change the sea level it will change the lives of the indigenous peoples traditions and way of life drastically.
Even though i knew most of this information already from taking sue climate science class it was still interesting to hear it from someone who has dedicated his life to this science. Don was interesting i just wish he would have gone more into detail about what is being done to counteract the melting.
Hopefully polar bears wont have to resort to this simply because as humans we cant change our ways.
