Scientists say that changing wind and sea ice patterns have led the eastern Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet to expand since the start of the 21st century. This followed two decades of ice retreat.

Growing Antarctic ice

A team of researchers from the universities of Cambridge and Newcastle in the UK and Canterbury University in New Zealand found that floating ice shelves on the eastern Antarctic Peninsula grew between 2000 and 2019.

They used satellite measurements dating back 60 years, as well as ocean and atmospheric records to get a detailed understanding of ice conditions in this 1,400 kilometre-long peninsula. Their results showed that 85 per cent of the ice shelf in this area grew since the early 2000s.

Location of the expanding ice shelf in the eastern Antarctic PeninsulaCambridge University

Ice shelves are floating sections of ice that are attached to land-based ice sheets. They help protect the inland ice from eroding and breaking off into the ocean.

During their 2019 expedition to Antarctica, the researchers noted that “parts of the ice shelf coastline were at their most advanced position since satellite records began in the early 1960s,” says expedition chief scientist and study co-author Professor Julian Dowdeswell.

The expansion follows the rapid melting of ice in the second half of the 20th Century, including the collapse of the Larsen A and B ice shelves in 1995 and 2002. This contributed to rising global sea levels and warnings of flooding in coastal areas.

Global sea levels have risen around 21-24 centimetres since 1880, with about a third of that happening in the last 25 years. Rising waters threaten infrastructure, homes and livelihoods on coastlines around the world – eight out of the world’s 10 largest cities are near a coast, according to the UN.

What caused the growth of the ice shelf?

The results, which were published in the Nature Geoscience journal, suggest that sea ice and regional wind patterns had a vital role to play in stabilising the ice shelf.

A change in wind conditions over the Weddell Sea pushed floating sea ice against the ice shelves, binding them together.

Before 2002, winds in the same area blew sea ice away from the coast, wearing down what scientists call a “buttressing effect.” This meant ice shelves were exposed to ocean waves and currents, leading to the formation – or calving – of icebergs that broke away into the sea.

A giant iceberg that broke from Ronne Ice Shelf in May 2021, moves through the sea ice packed Weddell SeaDr. Frazer Christie/Scott Polar Research Institute

“We’ve found that sea ice change can either safeguard from, or set in motion, the calving of icebergs from large Antarctic ice shelves,” explains Dr Frazer Christie from Cambridge’s Scott Polar Research Institute, the paper’s lead author.

“Regardless of how the sea ice around Antarctica changes in a warming climate, our observations highlight the often-overlooked importance of sea ice variability to the health of the Antarctic Ice Sheet.”

An uncertain future for polar ice

Ice expansion in the Antarctic is unusual for the 21st century, when there has been a clear pattern of melting ice.

Antarctic ice loss nearly quadrupled from 51 billion tonnes per year to 199 billion between 1992 and 2016. But scientists do not know for sure how Antarctic ice will be affected by climate change and influence sea levels in the years to come.

Some models have forecast that overall sea ice in the Southern Ocean will be lost, but others predict sea ice gain.

The authors of this latest research say 2020 could have marked the end of the expansion in Eastern Antarctica. In the last 18 months there has been an increase in the number of icebergs breaking away from the peninsula.

“It’s entirely possible we could be seeing a transition back to atmospheric patterns similar to those observed during the 1990s that encouraged sea ice loss and, ultimately, more ice shelf calving,” says co-author Dr Wolfgang Rack from the University of Canterbury.

The post What’s behind the surprising growth of one Antarctic ice sheet? first appeared on Magazin Haber Ajansı.

The benches are raised 85cm higher than normal city benches, but why?

“According to the UN, the global sea level will rise up to one metre before the end of the century and that will also have a great impact on Denmark if we don’t act now,” says Kasper Adsbøll, a senior brand manager at television channel TV2.

‘The Copenhagen Bench – 2100 Edition’ is part of the channel’s ‘Our Earth – our responsibility’ campaign. The project aims to make the public think about climate change and the danger of rising sea levels.

Each of the ten benches around Copenhagen is fitted with a copper plaque which reads: ‘Flooding will become part of our everyday life unless we start doing something about our climate. According to the latest UN Climate Report sea-levels are expected to rise up to 1 metre by 2100 if global warming continues.’

Denmark, and Copenhagen in particular, is a very low-lying region. Parts of the capital are only a few metres above sea level, leaving it exposed to the immediate impact of rising water levels.

Watch the video above to learn more about Copenhagen’s tall benches.

The post Denmark has built weirdly tall benches as a warning – but what is it? first appeared on Magazin Haber Ajansı.

Coastal sea levels were 84 mm (3.3 inches) higher in 2021 than the average over the period from 1993 to 2011, the National Marine Environmental Monitoring Centre said in an annual bulletin.

Saturday’s report warned that rising sea levels brought by climate change were having a “continuous impact” on the development of coastal regions, and urged authorities to improve monitoring and bolster early warning and prevention efforts.

Coastal sea levels around China have now risen by an average of 3.4 millimetres (0.13 inch) a year since 1980, higher than the global rate over the period.

Although the temperatures of China’s coastal waters fell slightly in 2021 from the previous year, they were still the third highest on record and 0.84 degrees Celsius above the 1993-2011 average.

South China sea coastCanva

What is the impact of rising sea levels on Chinese cities?

Last year, the environment ministry forecast a rise of another 55 mm to 170 mm (2 inches to 7 inches) in coastal water levels during the next 30 years, which would require a greater effort by China to protect its coastline.

The long-term effects of such rise include erosion of coastal ecoystems and the loss of tidal flats, while coastal cities face greater risks of floods and salt tides.

Its east coast cities have begun making contingency plans against rising sea levels, with the commercial hub of Shanghai looking into building new drainage tunnels and tidal gates.

Projections such as those by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicate that rising sea levels are a “serious threat to China’s coastal cities and populations”.

The post China sets new record for rising sea levels, how will its cities cope? first appeared on Magazin Haber Ajansı.

New research has found that one in 25 Australian homes could be effectively uninsurable by 2030 due to extreme weather caused by climate change, according to a detailed analysis carried out by Australian non-profit the Climate Council.

As the most expensive asset that many people own, it means some home-owners won’t be able to protect their properties if the worst were to happen.

Climate Valuation, an analysis firm that helped conduct the research, says it looked at the climate hazards for 14 million Australian addresses to show the physical risk extreme weather and climate change pose over the next decade.

In the 10 regions most at risk from climate impacts such as flooding, wildfires and extreme wind, the number of uninsurable homes rises to one in seven.

“It’s striking how the number of affected properties grows under higher emissions scenarios,” says Dr Karl Mallon, CEO of Climate Valuation. “Reducing emissions would potentially save thousands of homes from worsening damage.”

With climate change playing out in real-time, many Australians are already finding it impossible to insure their homes and businesses, adds Amanda McKenzie, CEO of Climate Council.

Wreckage is washed up under a waterfront restaurant in Brisbane, Australia, Wednesday, March 2, 2022.AP Photo/Tertius Pickard

The authors of the study urge people to consider what local hazards threaten their homes and use it to inform their political stance on climate change in the future.

Hawai’i’s homes are being swallowed by the sea

Being unable to insure your home is one issue, but others around the world are preparing for a future where the land it is built on may be swallowed by the sea.

This week Hawai’i became the first US state where homeowners must tell buyers if their property is threatened by sea-level rise. Before the sale goes through, they are now required by law to say whether it is in an area that could be impacted by the projected 3.2 foot (1 metre) increase in sea level.

In 2017, a report from state officials mapped out the potential danger zone. It found that €17.9 billion worth of property and 20,000 residents were under threat – potentially as soon as 2060.

In early March, one homeowner saw first-hand the impact that climate change is having. A house on O’ahu’s North Shore collapsed onto the beach after the powerful waves that make the region popular with surfers eroded the coastline.

A general view shows the coast east of Waikiki Beach, Hawaii.DANIEL SLIM/AFP

Hawai’i’s Department of Land and Natural Resources said more are likely to be lost to the crashing waves with mitigation efforts only a temporary solution.

“Recent news of the North Shore home collapse highlights the real risks to oceanfront properties due to climate change,” says Suzanne Case, Co-Chair of the Hawaiʻi Climate Change Commission.

“Unfortunately, this may happen again, it’s a dangerous situation – and demonstrates the necessity for disclosing this kind of information.”

The post Climate change could soon make 1 in 25 Australian homes uninsurable first appeared on Magazin Haber Ajansı.

Ganvie village was built in the middle of Lake Nokoué 400 years ago and its unique history starts in the era of slavery. In the 18th century, the people of the local Tofinu tribe were desperate to escape from the soldiers of the Fon and Dahomey kingdoms who captured people and sold them to Portuguese traders.

The ancestors of today’s residents fled to the lake which was feared by the soldiers who believed a terrible demon lived under its surface. Knowing this, the tribe chose to build their homes on stilts in the middle of the water.

The name of the village pays tribute to this history, Ganvié means ‘we survived’ in the local language.

A girl paddles a pirogue in Ganvie, Benin.Florin Iorganda/REUTERS

Despite the fact that they were no longer under threat, people kept living in their lake homes. Over the centuries, Ganvié has grown beyond all recognition.

What is life like in the ‘Venice of Africa’?

Today, there are approximately 30,000 people living in the village – they are known as the ‘watermen’.

“We live by fishing,” says resident Edmon Adissa. “We settled here to escape from slavery. We make our living by fishing.”

Even today, everything in the village stands on stilts from the beauty bar to markets, hotels, schools, a hospital, businesses and churches. Narrow canoes called pirogue are the only means of transportation.

But tourism has gradually replaced fishing as Ganvie’s main source of revenue. Around 10,000 tourists visit the lake village annually, according to local the tourism office.

Watch the video above to see the ‘Venice of Africa’.

The post Why the ‘Venice of Africa’ should be on your bucket list first appeared on Magazin Haber Ajansı.