A Changing Antarctica: How Computer Models Help Scientists Look Into the Future

As the temperature of the Earth warms, ice in Antarctica melts. As ice flows off the land and into the sea around the edges of Antarctica, warm ocean waters melt the ice from below. Warm air also melts ice at the surface. This melting ice raises sea levels around the world, flooding our coasts and c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers for Young Minds
Main Authors: Nowicki, Sophie, Felikson, Denis, Nias, Isabel
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: Frontiers Media SA 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frym.2023.1114876
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2023.1114876/full
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Summary:As the temperature of the Earth warms, ice in Antarctica melts. As ice flows off the land and into the sea around the edges of Antarctica, warm ocean waters melt the ice from below. Warm air also melts ice at the surface. This melting ice raises sea levels around the world, flooding our coasts and causing serious damage to our buildings and roads. We do not know exactly how much warmer our world might get in the future, but we can use computer models to predict how much Antarctic ice could melt, and how much sea-level rise might happen. Our models suggest that the future of Antarctica is unclear, and we need more scientists helping to solve this problem. To avoid the worst impacts of sea-level rise, we must keep temperatures as low as possible and reduce greenhouse gas emissions as much, and as quickly, as we can.