Environmental Crisis

Early 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) official release of over 2500 leading scientists around the world to participate in the climate assessment report. The report affirmed the Earth warming phenomenon, from the mid-20th century until so far, a 90 percent chances that related with human activities. Now it can be perfectly sure the polar region incidents traced: human activities - greenhouse effect - global warming - sea ice melt - foraging difficult - the polar bear into a crisis of survival.

The Pole areas variation directly impact on the global scale atmospheric circulation, ocean circulation and world climate variability, and it is affect the global climate and environment as well. Studies show the Arctic is undergoing rapidly changes of atmosphere, ocean, island and ecological elements, these rapid changes are resulting the world's climate and environment in a significant impact.

2. The vulnerable ecosystem

The Arctic is one of the last large undeveloped land on Earth, thus, protecting the Arctic species diversity and genetic diversity are increasingly important. The weak productivity and a simple structure of the food chain in the Arctic biosphere makes a vulnerable ecosystem, and the self repair ability is weak. Increasingly human activities have huge impacts on the ecological environment in the Arctic. Arctic plants are easily destroyed. As the habitat of many species, the Arctic ecological damage will have a huge impact on these species.

Introduction

1. Why Arctic more sensitive to Global Warming?

The ice is white and, therefore, most of the sunlight shines on ice and reflected back. Ice gradually melting, exposing the sea water, the color of the seawater is darker, and can absorb more sunlight, then the seawater temperature will becomes higher and higher. In terms of this leads to more ice melting, and winter is more difficult to re-icing. As this process gradually accelerated until ice is completely melted.

Land-based ice sheets are the same. The elevated temperature of the Arctic Circle will stimulate plants growth, and leads to the melting of ice sheets, and changes from white surface into deep color plants. This means that more sunlight absorbed by surface plant rather than the ice surface reflected back, thereby speeding up the rise in temperature.

This webpage is made by student who studying Environment Science at Chapman University, to provide the useful information on Climate Change and Meteorology. Acknowledging the page includes several data and material which have not been concerned to be used, we are willing to removed any if it causes problems. Send email to: jessie_zhearty@yahoo.com.cn if you have any request.

Arctic Pole, the last frontier