Monthly Archives: October 2023
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Antarctic winter sea ice hit record lows
Antarctic sea ice extent peaked this year on Sept. 10, when it covered 16.96 million square miles, the lowest winter maximum since satellite records began in 1979, the NSIDC said. That’s about 1 million square kilometres less ice than the previous winter record set in 1986.
It is interesting that this effect has only taken place in recent years, with Antarctic sea ice actually increasing in coverage between 2007 and 2016. It cannot be concluded whether this reduction is caused by climate change, as the change has only taken place in recent years, but warming sea temperatures are likely to have contributed.
This presents an entire set of problems. Not only does it endanger the species who dwell on the ice, and as such the biodiversity of the Antarctic, but may cause climate change to build exponentially, as the Antarctic sea ice is an important factor in fighting climate change and reducing global temperatures by reflecting solar radiation out of the atmosphere. Sea ice reflects 45-65% solar radiation than the ocean.
“The key message here is that to protect these frozen parts of the world that are really important for a whole number of reasons,” said Ariaan Purich, a sea ice researcher at Australia’s Monash University who co-authored the study. “We really need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.”
Current Affairs: Himalayan Lake Flooding In India
Above is a link to a website regarding the recent a burst in the Himalayan lake earlier this month. This sudden burst could be because of the heavy monsoon rains and us also being in a El Nino year.
This interested me because my IA has been somewhat based around El Nino’s, Floods and Droughts so over the course of doing my IA it has become a topic I have been regularly investigating. Just knowing these extreme El Nino’s are occurring is quite concerning as they are becoming more frequent and gaining severity which is also do the rise in global temperatures. I believe this will be a sort of wake up call for the world because it really emphasises that our actions, big or small, have consequences.
With regard to what an El Nino is by using the NOAA website “An El Nino condition occurs when surface water in the equatorial Pacific becomes warmer than average and east winds blow weaker than normal. The opposite condition is called La Nina. During this phase of ENSO, the water is cooler than normal and the east winds are stronger. El Niños typically occur every 3 to 5 years.”
How do you believe we can combat how frequent the El Nino’s are occurring and lower the risks ? Do you think we are beyond the point of redemption?
Current Affairs- Amazon River Dolphins : Death- El Nino & Impact
The deaths of 120 river dolphins in a tributary of the Amazon River are believed to be linked to a severe drought and high temperatures.
- Low river levels during the drought have led to water temperatures that are harmful to the dolphins.
- The Amazon River dolphin (Inia geoffrensis) is a species of toothed whale that lives in the rainforest rivers of South America. They are also known as the boto, bufeo, or pink river dolphin.
- Known for their striking pink colour, are a unique freshwater species in South America and face vulnerability due to slow reproductive cycles.
EL NINO
These massive floods and extreme events are a cause of El Nino. El Niño is a climate pattern that describes the unusual warming of surface waters in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. This event has an impact on ocean temperatures, the speed and strength of ocean currents, the health of coastal fisheries and species, and local weather from Australia to South America and beyond. El Niño events occur irregularly at two- to seven-year intervals.
Effects on humans
Extreme temperatures caused by El Nino, lead to a loss of
livelihoods, spikes in hunger, malnutrition, food and
water insecurity, and deepening poverty and inequality,
hitting the most vulnerable the hardest. While
El Niño lasts for a short period, the impacts on
people, agricultural production, and the sustainable
development of affected countries can persist for years.
The scale and scope of the devastation for communities
in countries most affected by the current El Niño/La
Niña highlights gaps in responses and signals the need
for a new approach to address slow-onset, predictable
weather events in the context of climate change. This
new approach must reflect the deeply integrated
challenges of promoting long-term development,
building resilient communities and reducing vulnerability
to natural disasters.
Case Study – Toxic road runoff polluting England’s rivers (Topic 4&5)
This works with both soil and water 9 markers. You can talk about nitrate levels and pollutants in soil and then speak about runoff into water then causing eutrophication and harm to wildlife.
Important Quotes from the article:
- “It’s an incredibly complicated cocktail of 300 or so chemicals,” said Joe Pecorelli, of the Zoological Society of London. “In the summer you get an accumulation of chemicals on the road surfaces … and when the rain comes, all that material – tyre wear, all the metals from brake pads – gets flushed directly into rivers … which causes the reduction of oxygen. In urban areas this is a perennial problem. Every summer we experience fish kills in those rivers where there are fish remaining.”
- Stephen Elderkin, the director of environmental sustainability at National Highways, said: “We are committed to addressing all of our high-risk water outfalls by 2030 and our water quality plan 2030 sets out a high-level programme of work to achieve this … National Highways has also invested in a programme of research to understand the risk of pollution from microplastics in road runoff.”
savanna PowerPoint
ess
Biomes Presentation : Tropical Rainforest
Presentation outlining the tropical rainforest biome.
Deserts Biome Presentation
This is a presentation about the deserts biome, ESS 13IB
Tundra Biome Presentation:
Below is a link to a read only presentation about the Tundra Biome.
Environmental Systems and Societies – Tundra Presentation.pptx