With the development of the Industrial Revolution, human demand for energy has grown geometrically. Human beings have explored the use of various energy sources while extracting energy. In the 21st century, the places on the earth that can be touched and seen have basically been clearly defined by human arrangements.
South Pole
The deep sea has nothing to do with today's theme, so let's take a look at antarctica first. Antarctica is one of the coldest places in the world, and there is no one. But now this coldest place has actually begun to melt, why is that? And what does it mean? Is it a good thing or a bad thing? What did the scientists find?
Antarctic Introduction
Hundreds of millions of years ago, the movement of the Earth's crust divided the ancient continent into seven plates, and kicked one of them to the southernmost part, becoming the current Antarctic continent. So Antarctica is not only the coldest, but also the furthest, 890 kilometers from the nearest South American continent.
Antarctica
Antarctica has very rich resources, is an important storage place for fresh water in the world, and has about 70% of the earth's freshwater resources. There are also more than 220 kinds of minerals, large areas of coal fields, natural gas and so on. According to surveys, Antarctica's coal, iron and oil reserves are the world's largest.
Antarctic resources
Due to its geographical location and climate, Antarctica became the only land on seven continents that had not been set footed by primitive humans. Not only that, but until now, Antarctica is the only continent that has not been occupied by any country.
Exploration of Antarctica
Although Antarctica has an extreme cold of more than -90 degrees Celsius, a long polar day and night, a white wasteland like walking like a blind box of death, extremely inconvenient transportation logistics, etc., after the discovery of Antarctica, explorers still spent nearly a century to conquer it.
Antarctica
In 1911-1912 two Norwegian and British teams reached the South Pole and conquered the deepest part of Antarctica. However, Scott's team was martyred on the way back due to extreme circumstances, which became a "great tragedy".
In 1911, Roald Amundsen and his team members
Why, even in the humble conditions at that time, even knowing that this matter was at stake, did the world's great powers still insist on exploring antarctica? The reason is simple, Antarctica has paleontological fossils, minerals and other resources have not been excavated, in the context of the energy crisis, these resources are particularly precious.
Due to the harsh living environment, human beings can not use conventional means to land and occupy the Antarctic, coupled with the impact of World War II at that time, the people of the world do not want the last piece of pure land to be affected militarily and politically. So in 1955 12 countries held an international conference on Antarctica in Paris, later the Antarctic Treaty and system.
Antarctic penguins
Protect the ecological environment of Antarctica from being destroyed, prevent the Antarctic continent from being divided up by military and political rule, and coordinate the exploration of various countries on the Antarctic land. As a result, the question of how to occupy Antarctica was shelved, and scientific research stations in various countries began to flourish in Antarctica.
The melting of Antarctica
After the above introduction, everyone should have a general understanding of Antarctica. And as mentioned repeatedly before, the biggest feature of Antarctica is cold, very cold, very cold. If it were not for the extreme environment, humans would not have explored the Antarctic surface until the beginning of the 20th century.
Beautiful Antarctica
But with the development of human society, the advancement of technology, the adventure of the exploration team, the establishment of the scientific research station. With the global warming, more and more people are now able to set foot on the Antarctic continent and even travel to Antarctica.
So the Antarctic is not only warmer, but even warmer. In recent years, the melting of glaciers in East Antarctica has created large and small water holes. In the eyes of unsuspecting tourists, the discovery of these water holes adds a little fun to Antarctica. But the discovery made the scientists in charge of the observations laugh.
Glaciers melt
It is normal for snow and ice to melt from the outside in, but Antarctica is an abnormally cold place. Even if there are scientific and technological means for people to set foot on this land, these glaciers are so simple to say that the word "forbidden area" in Antarctica really does not deserve.
Ice pits
Not only that, but scientists also found a two-kilometer ice pit, which was very surprising. According to the study, the formation of ice craters is due to the collapse of the terrain due to the dissolution of frozen lakes underground. This suggests that Antarctic glaciers melt together inside and out, and even the interior may melt faster.
If it is simply external melting, the inside of the glacier is enough to support the entire huge structure, but the internal melting means that the whole of Antarctica will no longer be stable.
In addition to this larger ice pit, there are also large and small water holes, and a large amount of ice floes floating on the sea level. Now that Antarctica's seemingly solid glaciers are actually "troublesome inside and outside", it's time for humanity to be vigilant!
Effects of antarctic melting
Sea level rise caused by melting glaciers from global warming is well known, but it may not be well understood. As mentioned at the beginning, Antarctica is one of the coldest places in the world. The average temperature in Antarctica is 20 degrees Celsius lower than in the Arctic, and if Antarctica glaciers, there is nothing left of the Arctic estimate.
global warming
The total area of Antarctica is about 14 million square kilometers, accounting for about 9.4% of the world's land area. Its average altitude is 2350 meters, and the glacier covered above it is removed, and the altitude of the South Pole is only 410 meters. The Arctic is not as cold as the South Pole, but the ice content is still considerable. So the poles melt, and the global sea level rise may not be less than 50 meters.
First and foremost are some coastal areas and coastal countries. For example, in an island nation like Japan, if the sea level continues to rise, it will accelerate the possibility of Japan's sinking.
The last time similar data appeared was in ancient times around the world. Some people may have heard of the great global flood events in ancient times and think that this is just a legend. But according to a large number of archaeological studies, the global flood did happen.
flood
The fossils of ancient marine life found on Mount Everest are enough to prove that the earth in ancient times was full of seafood for a time, and perhaps seafood grew larger than anyone.
The sea level rise brought about by the melting of the poles is not a particularly big disaster at present, after all, such a large number of glaciers, melting also takes a certain amount of time. At the current rate of technological development, there will always be a certain way to deal with it, and the real problem lies in the ancient permafrost layer.
First of all, let me ask you a question, is the new crown terrible? Is it easy to cure? Since the outbreak of the new crown epidemic in 19 years, repeated infections have been repeatedly recovered, and at the same time, the mutation of the new crown virus has appeared, and the relevant researchers are still relentlessly seeking solutions to the problem.
In the frozen soil of the Arctic and Antarctic, various bacteria and viruses that have existed for a long time are also frozen. These ancient permafrosts are like Pandora's box, which may be opened once global temperatures rise and glaciers melt in large areas.
Some people may wonder, doesn't low temperature make the virus less contagious and reproductive? Low temperatures do inhibit the activity of the virus, but the vitality of the virus is also very tenacious. The permafrost is full of viruses that have never been discovered before, and who can guarantee that these viruses have not mutated, and that the previous methods are practically usable? Even if it has been frozen for millions of years, once the temperature is right, the virus is likely to recover.
virus
In the face of a new type of virus, which still makes humans busy and helpless, these "old monsters" that have existed for tens of thousands of years may not give humans more time to find a cure. Once it breaks out, it is likely to bring disasters that human beings cannot imagine.
The current state of climate issues
With the outbreak of the new crown epidemic in China in 2020, wildfires burning across the United States, and abnormal weather in Siberia, the world seems to be in a turbulent environment. According to the 2021 survey, the carbon dioxide content in 2020 once again set a new record.
Wildfires in California, USA
Ralph Ralph, Head of the Carbon Dioxide Research Program at the Cripps Institute of Oceanography, USA. "In fact, every year carbon dioxide levels are recorded," Schke said. While the outbreak has largely limited people's travel, it has actually done little to slow the rise in carbon dioxide levels.
El Niño
On a global scale, 2020 and 2016 were the hottest two years on record. 2020 not only experienced El Niño, but also formed a large-scale warm water belt in the Pacific Ocean, leading to massive warming. I also experienced the La Niña incident, which was the opposite of the El Niño phenomenon.
That is to say, if it were not for the formation of a cold belt by La Niña, which lowered the temperature, 2020 would be the hottest year in the world on record. Excessive temperatures caused massive wildfires in the United States and bushfires in the "Black Summer" of eastern Australia.
La Niña phenomenon
In addition, the Arctic Circle also suffered the highest temperature on record. Temperatures in the Arctic have increased significantly in 2020, and the freezing period has been delayed by nearly two months. In the summer of 2020, the Arctic reached the second lowest sea ice area and extent on record.
sea ice
It should be noted here that warming accelerates the melting of sea ice, and the melting of sea ice will further promote climate warming. Because the presence of sea ice reflects the sun's heat back into space, melting will undoubtedly weaken this layer of protection. Moreover, the open, dark waters formed by the melting of sea ice will absorb heat in large areas, further exacerbating global warming.
Polar Researcher Michael of the British Antarctic Survey. Meredith said:
"Sea ice reflects a lot of the sun's energy, slowing down global warming, but humans are making the Arctic sea ice constantly diminishing."
At the same time, the permafrost of the Arctic Circle is rapidly warming and melting. Permafrost refers to layers of rock and soil that have a temperature equal to or less than 0 degrees Celsius and last for at least two years. In the summer of 2020, the land temperature in some parts of the Arctic Circle even reached 45 degrees Celsius, and it was inevitable that it would not melt.
The problem with the permafrost is not only bacteria and viruses, but also large amounts of greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide and methane. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that is 84 times more effective than carbon dioxide. If this carbon is also released into the atmosphere, it is estimated that God will not be able to bear it.
Moreover, the melting of permafrost will lead to the collapse of geological structures, and in May 2020, a diesel storage tank in the Russian Arctic collapsed, and the leakage of 21,000 tons of diesel caused widespread pollution.
Oil spills
The World Economic Forum in 2020 launched a campaign at the beginning of the year to plant a trillion trees to absorb carbon. Senior Lecturer, Grantham Institute, Bonnie M. Walling said that it may be useful, but it does not solve the problem, and it is better to focus on the present.
In recent years, environmental awareness has increased, and the overall rate of deforestation has gradually slowed down, but between 2015 and 2020, the annual global deforestation still reached 10 million hectares.
Wood logging
Global forests are declining, but regional disparities are emerging: Eurasia has regained temperate forests through cultivation and conservation, while South America and Africa are losing their tropical forests, with the Amazon rainforest deforestation reaching its highest level in 12 years in 2020.
Where is the future direction for humanity?
In his December 2020 speech, Guterres said: "Let's be clear: human activity is the root cause of our chaos, but it also means that human action can solve this problem." ”
Major natural disasters
There are signs that nature has sounded the alarm bell for human beings. The continuous destruction of the ecological balance by human beings will only further deteriorate the environment, and what we need to do is not only reflect, but most importantly, apply reflection to practice and achieve the desired effect. Don't just keep your thoughts on your lips and then do things with your thoughts.
Love the environment, protect the environment. Man protects nature, and nature will continue to bless mankind. After all, human beings must make up for the mistakes they have committed, otherwise, they will inevitably suffer the consequences of their own evil.