Article Summary and Response, Essay Example

In the article “Arctic Sea Ice: An All-Time Minimum,” Julian Taylor reports that the ice cap of the Arctic Ocean continues to decline and hit a new record low according to information supplied by the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado. In September of 2007, the Arctic Ocean ice cap covered approximately 1.6 million square miles, but in 2012, it declined by some 300,000 square miles to approximately 1.3 million square miles, a decrease equal to the geographical size of the state of Texas (Science News). Certainly, this report indicates that global warming does indeed exist and that it continues to affect major geographical areas and locations throughout the planet.

Some of the main ideas covered in this article lends credence to the suggestion that the Arctic Ocean ice cap which has been in existence for millions of years is slowly deteriorating because of a combination of global warming and the Greenhouse Effect, defined as the “enhancement of Earth’s natural greenhouse effect by the addition of greenhouse gases” like CO₂ from the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and gas (“What is the Greenhouse Effect?”).

Taylor points out that under normal environmental conditions, Arctic Ocean ice increases during the winter months and then decreases or retreats during the spring months. However, the sea ice minimum which occurs naturally during the summer months, “has been decreasing over the last three decades as Arctic ocean and air temperatures” continue to rise because of global warming and the Greenhouse Effect. In 2012, the sea ice minimum as compared to the years between 1979 and 2000, is only half as much which marks “the first time Arctic sea ice has dipped below 4 million square kilometers” or about 6 million square miles (“Arctic Sea Ice”).

As added support, Taylor notes the viewpoints of two prominent climate scientists–Claire Parkinson of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center who states that “Climate models have predicted a retreat of the Arctic sea ice,” but due to global warming and the Greenhouse Effect, “the actual retreat has proven to be much more rapid than the predictions;” and Joseph Comiso, also of NASA Goddard, who adds that in relation to the thickness of the ice cover, it too has substantially decreased and has become thinner and thinner over the decades and that now because of global warming, has become vulnerable to melting (“Arctic Sea Ice”).

One final observation is that global warming has created a sort of vicious cycle in relation to the amount of sea ice. Instead of the sea ice becoming thicker and denser during the winter months and then thinning out during the spring and summer months, the sea ice that does accumulate during the winter melts quickly, thus reducing the amount of ice overall (Taylor, “Arctic Sea Ice”).

Obviously, the information provided by Taylor and the two climate scientists points to a severe and continuing problem related to global warming and the Greenhouse Effect in relation to the sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. One main concern over the continuing decrease in sea ice is whether certain animal species will survive, such as polar bears that depend on the sea ice for protection and breeding. Also, many humans depend on the sea ice as a place to live and build their homes, especially the Eskimos. Therefore, Taylor’s argument is quite sound and effective by helping to show that global warming and the Greenhouse Effect will be with us for many more decades and could lead to disastrous results in relation to the natural environment of the Arctic Ocean.

Works Cited

Taylor, Julian. “Arctic Sea Ice: An All-Time Minimum.” Science News. September 22, 2012. Web. Accessed 9 October 2012. http://www.macroevolution.net/sea-ice-2.html

“What is the Greenhouse Effect?” WeatherQuestions.com. 2012. Web. Accessed 9 October 2012. http://www.weatherquestions.com/What_is_the_greenhouse_effect.htm