The Oldest And Most Stable Patch Of Ice In The Arctic Is Disappearing Faster Than We Anticipated

Last week over 11,000 scientists across 130 countries declared an environmental emergency on Planet Earth. They promised "untold suffering" is soon to follow thanks to global warming and rising sea levels. And sadly it seems like they're far too right.

Reuters

According to the paper they released, rising sea levels will flood most coastal cities by 2050.

Now researchers from the University of Toronto have published a new study that's even more worrying. They say that even the oldest ice in the Arctic Sea, once though too massive to melt, is actually in rapid decline. It's apparently disappearing incredibly fast, hastened by warmer ocean currents and winds.

The Last Ice Area, as it's called, is the region of the Arctic home to the oldest and thickest sea ice. And yet, based on their study, it looks like it could all disappear completely as soon as 2030, at least in the summers. And who knows how long it'll be before the Arctic will be ice-free year-round?

As the Arctic sea ice melts, it swirls away from the main mass in a circular pattern, accumulating along the northern coasts of Greenland and Canada. And with this goes pieces of the only habitat for creatures like polar bears.

NOAA

Kent Moore, the lead author of the study says, "If we lose all the ice, we lose those species. This area will be a refuge where species can survive and hopefully expand their regions once the ice starts returning."

As such, the researchers are now racing to unravel the secrets of the Last Ice Area, so they can help policymakers codify laws that will help protect these endangered Arctic species. Because if we can preserve that region of ice, it might be these species' only chance until we can reverse the effects of global warming.