Why Polar Bears Get Stranded on Sea Ice and How to Help

 

Why Polar Bears Get Stranded on Sea Ice and How to Help

We have all seen the pictures of the polar bear stranded on the sea ice unable to make it safely back to land. We also know that ocean sea level is rising at a faster rate each year and threatening the welfare of those living on the coast. Well, there is a lot going on in the ocean that we know affects global warming, but what can we do about it? It turns out there are things each of us can do to save the polar bear and reduce coastal flooding.

Let's talk a little bit about where polar bears live; among glaciers and on sea ice. Glaciers are the result of the accumulation of snow and they are always formed on land. Sea ice is the result of the accumulation of frozen seawater and the snow which falls on top and always occurs over water. This sea ice increases and decreases with the changing temperatures. Polar bears walk on these ice bridges to fish in the ocean and get stranded when they melt.

Sea ice itself doesn’t add very much to sea level rise because it floats in the oceans, with part above the surface and part below, displacing some of the water like an ice cube in a glass of water. Even so, scientists study the amount of sea ice very carefully each year. The stranded polar bears would be glad to hear that, but actually sea ice has two very important effects on global warming and sea level rise.

The first is that it bumps up against the leading edge of the glaciers acting as a brake to slow down the movement of the glaciers into the oceans as they melt or break off. This added glacier ice in the oceans does raise sea level, both initially, and when it melts. We know that massive zones are losing ice from glaciers six times faster than during the 1980s.

Video below:

Radley Horton on why melting sea ice could lead to new kinds of weather

The second very important effect of sea ice is to reflect back sunlight as short-wave radiation. This helps keep the atmosphere cool because short-wave radiation does not effectively heat up the gases in the atmosphere. But as the ice melts, darker colored water is exposed which does not reflect nearly as much sunlight. Instead, the sea absorbs more sunlight and heats up producing long-wave radiation which warms the atmosphere. Scientists say that the warming effects of greenhouse gas are ten times greater over the poles than the rest of the planet. We also know that the ocean acts as a sponge absorbing heat from our warming planet. The amount of extra heat in the world’s oceans actually doubled between 1997 and 2015.

So what can we do to protect the polar bear’s sea ice and other disastrous effects of too much glacier melt? Do every kind of mitigating effect for global warming, including reflecting sunlight and reducing long-wave radiation absorption. When your house needs repainting choose a light color; if your roofing shingles need to be replaced choose a light color; if the sun is beating into the window put up a sheet of aluminum foil to reflect the sun. These actions will also reduce the amount of energy your house uses in summer to keep cool. This reduces your utility bill and the amount of greenhouse gas effect. You can keep the polar bear from becoming stranded on sea ice, save the planet and save some money. If you would like to read additional information on this topic the below listed sources are available.

The National Snow & Ice Data Center provides current information on the state of sea ice. Their website address is https://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews

Climate Central Presents current issues related to Global Warming and the resultant changes to the world’s climate and its recent effects on living conditions. Their website address is https://www.climatecentral.org/

The big melt: Earth’s ice sheets are under attack

https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/big-melt-earths-ice-sheets-are-under-attack