West+Greenland+Ice+Sheet+melting+at+the+fastest+rate+in+centuries

Written: April 9th, 2018 Posted: April 9th, 2018 Source: []

According to the research found in Geophysical Research Letters, West Greenland’s ice sheets are melting at a faster rate than ever over the past 450 years. Although there are natural patterns of oceanic and atmospheric conditions that influence the melting, the increasing production of greenhouse gases and the resulting climate change are to blame for the record high rates in recent years. The melting ice is one of the primary contributors to the rising sea level, and this is how it works: the melted ice trickles down to the deeper snow and refreezes to form ice layers. The researchers at Dartmouth’s Ice Core Laboratory measured the thickness of a sample of one of the ice cores containing several layers, and revealed that the more recent ice layers are thicker and more frequent.
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This article relates to AP Environmental Science because the recent discovery that the West Greenland ice sheets have begun to melt faster in recent history shows that global warming and the rising sea level are a huge consequence of our reckless use and production of greenhouse gases. The rising sea level has been predicted “to rise by 15-95 centimeter between 1990 and 2100” (Miller 512). The faster the ice melts in one of the main contributors to the ocean level, the higher the average 48 centimeters rises. The endless consequences of a rising sea level involves the fact that more ocean water could “move barrier islands farther inland, accelerate coastal erosion, contaminate coastal aquifers with salt water, and flood tanks storing oil and other hazardous chemicals in coastal areas” (Miller 512).
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This study just goes to prove that human activity is the primary cause of major environmental problems, as the emission of greenhouse gases has only proved to worsen the conditions of our planet and add to a global warming crisis and a rising sea level. My opinion is that we should do everything in our power to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, whether it be to pass legislation to force people to slow their production, or to create other energy efficient and alternative ways of getting whatever the task is done.
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The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 that sets energy conservation standards for certain major household appliances and requires the Department of Energy to administer an energy conservation program for these products is a significant environmental law that improves the greenhouse gas emission levels, which will in turn help reduce global warming and rising sea levels.
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