Due to climate change, scientists saw record-low sea ice levels in the Antarctic last year, according to a report released in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
The findings indicated that there may be an alarming shift in the Antarctic sea ice, changing to a new, lower state over the next decades.
“In 2023, the area of winter Antarctic sea ice fell to the lowest measured since satellite records began in late 1978,” according to the study by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).
At 1.77 million square kilometers on February 19, 2023, Antarctic sea ice extent reached a record low. This is 1.02 million sq km (or 36% less) than the average minimum from 1979 to 2022.
What scientists found
According to research, the record-breaking low from last year would only happen once every 2,000 years in the absence of climate change and four times more frequently when it does.
Lead paper author Rachel Diamond said that although climate change increased the likelihood of 2023's abnormally low sea ice, the scientific models still regarded it as highly unusual.
“This is the first time this large set of climate models has been used to find out how unlikely 2023's low sea ice actually was,” she said.
Its vitality
“Antarctic sea ice is vital for the survival of species like penguins and Antarctic ecosystems and sea ice is one of the key controls of global ocean currents that can impact global climate,” Diamond explained.
When sea ice is absent, sunlight is absorbed by the water and releases heat into the atmosphere, warming it.
For the researchers, understanding the mechanisms behind the abnormally low Antarctic Sea ice extent in 2023 and if this would point to a long-term regime shift in the Southern Ocean are crucial tasks.
