Increased greenhouse effect and consequences in the Arctic region

How does the greenhouse effect change the climate?

Due to the greenhouse effect, the ice and glaciers in the Arctic are melting. This will affect all of us. The melting ice will create more cold water, the added amount of water from the melting ice affects the ocean currents. This may lead to the extinction of the gulf stream, which is one of the factors that makes life possible in the northern areas of the earth.

The greenhouse effect will cause the Antarctic and glaciers to melt, this will cause the sea level to increase, 60 meters if melted completely. This is a problem, as the areas closer to ocean-levels are often highly populated.

How does temperature affect the Arctic region?

The Arctic and its well-being is a very important part of how the situation of the Earth changes - negatively and positively. One of the important tasks the continental ice cap is containing CH4, or methane gas, a dangerous greenhouse gas. However, when the ice melts, which we now can observe, as a result of the temperature rising, the methane stored in the ice will be released, causing an even greater negative effect on the climate, and also potentially raising the temperature even more.

Water absorbs energy, or sunlight. When ice from the ice caps and continental ice caps in the Arctic melts, the ocean will have a greater capacity of absorbing energy, potentially leading to the average temperature increasing globally. This will be an evil circle, as increases in temperature will lead to more ice melting, and the process as described, will repeat itself.

The ice melting in the Arctic also affects ecosystems- when ocean levels rise, species are forced to move further into the areas they previously had no knowledge about- areas already occupied by other species. This creates a collision in ecosystems, and can potentially cause species and entire populations to go extinct.