West Antarctica Lacks Most Ice

The ocean west of Antarctica is missing an area of ​​winter sea ice the size of France, which is causing concern for other marine animals in seas and oceans around the world.

One expert said that the loss of ice in Lake Bellingshausen was “alarming” and that the loss of ice production could increase. temperature on the continental peninsula last week which saw the daytime temperature reach 15.4 degrees Celsius which is more than 20 degrees Celsius above the average.

It’s winter in Antarctica, as the sea ice grows rapidly around the continent reaching its peak in September.

But satellite observations showed that Bellingshausen Lake, which is located on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula and was mostly covered by ice by June, was free of ice.

Scientists say the area lost about 650,000 square kilometers (250,000 square miles) of ice compared to the average between 1991 and 2020. This area is the size of France and ten times the size of Tasmania.

“I’m concerned, it’s disappointing,” said Dr Will Hobbs, an Antarctic ice expert at the University of Tasmania and the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership.

“It’s amazing that we’re in June, and there’s no ice.”

He said that this is the third time in four years that the sea ice has decreased significantly in this area. “I don’t think we’ll ever see sea ice there again. It’s gone,” he said.

He added that the loss of sea ice may be related to sea change and scientists are trying to understand if global warming is the cause.

He said the area is important for krill – an important part of the diet for local species. Krill often hide under the ice during the winter, where they feed on algae.

On June 10 there was an average of 11.4 square meters of sea around the entire continent compared to the day’s long-term average of 12.6 square kilometers.

Dr. Phil Reid, who monitors Antarctic conditions at the Australian Meteorological Agency, said that Lake Bellingshausen had seen “a very impressive coastal sea” in recent years and summers.

He said that to the west of the area were the Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers Major continental contributions to ice loss and sea level rise.

Floating shelves in front of the glaciers could break up faster if the protective sea ice is not there for long, he said, and that could accelerate the loss of ice from the glaciers, pushing up the world’s oceans in the future.

Bellingshausen beach was the place tragedy at the end of 2022 when thousands of emperor penguin chicks hatched died during the “dangerous breeding” in four areas.

That event helped the UN advisers pushing these types into two categories being “vulnerable” on its list of globally threatened species earlier this year.

Dr. Peter Fretwell, a scientist from the British Antarctic Survey who has been reporting on the decline of these birds, said that the loss of sea ice is now “a big problem for penguins, especially emperors.”

Sea ice melts very slowly and breaks up very quickly. This results in successful breeding and a long journey to the smelter.”

Adelie penguin numbers were also declining and crabeater seals were forced to migrate in the summer to find permanent ice, he said.

This month the Antarctic Peninsula has seen extreme temperatures for several days. Hobbs said that while “no one has ever done these numbers” it was reasonable to say that temperatures “got worse because of the lack of sea ice.”

Sea ice often helps cool the warm air that enters the region from the north, he said.

Argentina’s meteorological agency, the Servicio Meteorológico Nacional, said the Esperanza area in the northeast of the peninsula experienced “extreme heat” on June 5 and 6.

Maximum temperatures of 15.4 degrees Celsius and 13.4 degrees Celsius, respectively, were recorded at a time when the average daily maximum was minus 6.2 degrees Celsius. The previous record for a June temperature below 13.3 degrees Celsius was set on June 12, 1998.