Before you all get worked up about this, it’s not necessarily what you think. Of course, climate change is a big deal, and we should be concerned about it. That being said, we don’t need to whip up a frenzy every time a piece of Antarctica falls apart. A recent study has shown that some parts of the Antarctic Ice Sheet will fall off anyway without causing any additional damage.
WEST ANTARCTICA NOT EFFECTED BY CLIMATE CHANGE
Greenland, as we all know is not very green. It is, in fact, largely covered with ice and this ice is melting rapidly. This is due to the negative effects of climate change. However, this catastrophe is not universal. Contrary to Greenland, West Antarctica is not yet influenced by climate change. It is still far too cold over there for ice to be melting, but ice is still being lost. Apparently, this is a natural phenomenon called “dynamic ice flow”.
PASSIVE VS. NON-PASSIVE ICE
These events in West Antarctica can best be described by passive and non-passive ice. According to compiled research, approximately thirteen percent of ice around Antarctica is passive ice. This means that when it collapses, it won’t lead to any further ice loss. We can all rest easy with that one. Non-passive ice, on the other hand, is what we should look out for. This ice, once removed, causes ice further inland to flow out, thus creating our sea levels to rise. Ice that is already floating in the water is not a concern, it is the addition of this inland ice that is the route of our problem.
CLIMATE CHANGE A GAME OF CHANCE
Well, sort of. There are still actions we should all take to slow down the effects of climate change, but it’s not entirely all up to us. Antarctica has its own game of chance going on up there. All we can do at this moment is hope the ice that falls is from an area with a large amount of passive ice. Certain glaciers like the Mertz and Drygalski have a much higher percentage of the passive stuff compared to some other ice shelves. In the meantime, trade in your Hummer for a Tesla to make yourself feel better.
