A new study shows that the planet’s boiling significantly accelerated the Antarctic “super vortex”; Thousands of square kilometers of ice could be lost.
The planet is boiling inexorably, and scientists no longer threaten a climate crisis – they directly declare: it is already here. 2024 is expected to be even hotter than 2023, which is considered the hottest year in history. As a result, the world will face more intense heat waves, droughts and forest fires, writes the Daily Mail.
Another threat facing the planet is ice loss and rising sea levels. In the new study, scientists focused on studying the massive vortex of ocean water surrounding Antarctica, also known as the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). In their study, the team analyzed the behavior of the polar vortex over the last 5.3 million years using sediment core samples taken from some of the harshest and most remote waters on Earth.
In Focus. Technologies emerged telegram channel. Subscribe to avoid missing the latest and most exciting news from the world of science!
Note that the “super vortex” in Antarctica is of particular interest to scientists, because the volume of this huge vortex exceeds the total volume of the entire world’s rivers. Scientists studied the behavior of the ACT and found that the giant vortex surrounding Antarctica slowed down during colder periods, such as ice ages, and accelerated during periods of global warming of the Earth.
The study’s authors now fear that the acceleration of the Antarctic “super vortex” could activate thousands of square kilometers of ice shelves in Antarctica, leading to an acceleration in global sea level rise. In fact, this can be compared to a straw stirring ice to cool a drink.
Co-author of the study is geochemist Dr. from Columbia University. According to Gisel Winkler, AUT is the strongest and fastest flow on the planet. Moreover, it is probably the most important current in the Earth’s climate system.
The authors of the study now suggest that the retreat and collapse of Antarctic ice are mechanistically related precisely to the strengthening of the ACC flow. In fact, today the river is driven by permanent westerly winds and rotates around the southernmost ice continent at about 2 miles clockwise, with about 170 million cubic meters of water rotating in this flow.
The conditions for the creation of this “super vortex” are believed to have first occurred after Antarctica separated from Australia during tectonic shifts during the Eocene period approximately 34 million years ago. However, according to scientists, the vortex reached its maximum strength only 12-14 kilometers ago.
The scientists concluded that during slower currents, smaller particles would settle more, while during faster ACC currents, only larger particles would have the weight to fall to the ocean floor. During the study, the scientists also identified several periods during which the ACC changed its speed; these all correspond to changes in Earth’s climate.
Previously Focus He wrote that a dangerous “regime change” is taking place in Antarctica: scientists are worried about the prospects.
Source: Focus
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.