Arctic Ice Cap Inquiry By: Emma Aizer

INQUIRY QUESTION: How does the melting of the Arctic Ice Cap affect Earth’s spheres and sustainability?

PART A: INTRODUCTION What is the Arctic(Polar) ice cap?- A Polar ice cap is a high-latitude region of a (dwarf) planet or natural satellite that is covered in ice. Earth’s Polar caps are mainly frozen water(ice). Why is the Arctic(Polar) ice cap Melting?- ”Data shows that the Polar ice caps are melting due to both natural and human factors(NASA satellites).” The ice cap easily breaks away in large chunks and melts in the open ocean. Apparently, the polar ice caps have melted faster in last 20 years than in the last 10,000.

PART B: EFFECTS OF THE MELTING OF THE ARCTIC(POLAR) ICE CAP ON THE GEOSPHERE How does the melting ice cap affect the extraction of oil, natural gas and minerals?- The oil industry found that there may be more than 90 billion barrels of recoverable oil buried in the arctic. Burning of fuel oils led to climate change, which probably contributed greatly to the melting of the ice caps. Later on, various oil companies have sent their drilling ships to the north to drill, produce and burn more oil, that would eventually make our climate even warmer.  How does the melting ice cap affect the rate of erosion and weathering in coastal areas?- the ice protects the arctic coast, the fact that its melting is bad because if the ice wasn’t there, the area would be exposed to all of the weather/habitat. How is the sustainability of the geosphere affected by the melting of the Arctic(Polar) ice cap?- the geosphere is negatively affected by the location of where the rocks and dirt are, causing the ocean to erode faster- the rising can cause islands to flood and if these places where humans live, a lot of waste can go into the ocean affecting living creatures in the ocean, all the animals, insects, plants, and organisms, will be wiped out if there was a huge flood. The only positive affect done by the melting of the ice cap is that there is more land to mine and cultivate that had previously been under ice.

PART C: EFFECTS OF THE MELTING OF THE ARCTIC ICE CAP ON THE ATMOSPHERE How could the melting of the ice cap affect climate in other parts of the world?- the world would get warmer, circulation changes: adding a bunch of cold water(melted ice) to the arctic ocean could lead to the breakdown of major circulation patterns that bring warm tropical water to colder regions or arctic water to the tropics. How could the melting of the arctic contribute to carbon in the atmosphere?- the melting of the ice caps releases more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, therefore further warming the climate on the planet and potentially speeding up global warming. How is the sustainability of the atmosphere affected by the melting of the arctic ice cap?- the sustainability of the atmosphere is affected by the ice cap because it heats up the air(making the earth warmer), as global warming continues and the ice cap starts to melt- the water level will rise in the ocean. As it rises, it consumes more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere which is needed for a plant to live, if the plants can survive and grow, then they will put out less oxygen into the atmosphere that is needed for most living things to survive.

PART D: EFFECTS OF THE MELTING OF THE ARCTIC ICE CAP ON THE HYDROSPHERE How will Greenland’s ice sheet be affected by the arctic cap melt?- The Greenland ice sheet is melting at a very fast rate and it has implications for sea life, fisheries, and coastal communities worldwide, sea-level rise and adding freshwater to ocean ecosystems. The Greenland ice sheet is shrinking in size. There are three main ice sheets- Greenland ice sheet, West Antarctic ice sheet and the East Antarctic ice sheet. Similar to glaciers, ice sheets are large masses of ice formed from layers of compacted snow. Ice sheets are thick enough to cover the area beneath them, including mountains. They grow through snowfall and shrink through surface melting, water runoff, breakup into the ocean and sublimation(water vapour). What effects will the changes to Greenland’s ice sheet have on the hydrosphere?- The Earth’s hydrosphere is made up of all the water on the planet that can be stored in the oceans, glaciers, rivers, streams, groundwater or sublimation. It is constantly moving by transferring water and heat throughout the earth’s atmosphere(sublimation and precipitation). The shrinking of the Greenland ice sheet happens to be a global issue. It contributes to climate change, it also helps shape fisheries, other sea life and coastal communities around the world. How is the sustainability of the hydrosphere affected by the melting of the arctic ice cap?- The arctic ice cap melting occurred from global warming, from lots of pollution and carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere. With the temperature rising, the melted ice is stored in the ocean causing the water level to rise. For all the communities on the water, they will experience floods damaging their property.

PART E: EFFECTS OF THE MELTING OF THE ARCTIC ICE CAP ON THE BIOSPHERE How have animals such as polar bears, whales, walruses and seals been affected?- Polar bears give birth and hunt on sea ice. They use it to travel from one place to another. The stability and amount of ice affects the life of mothers and cubs on their hunting success, less ice means longer they have to live without food. The ice melting creates more radiation exposure for the Arctic whales. ”The reduced sea ice cover decreases the net reflectivity of the Arctic, increasing absorption of UV rays in Arctic waters which cause skin lesions in whales and reduce primary production.” With less ice it reduces a cover over the whales for them to swim, creating a possible competition for food. The ice helps walruses hunt their food, they use the ice as a diving platform to get their food from the sea floor. Walruses travel large distances on the ice, it allows them to get food over a large area. If there is no ice it will be very hard for them to get their food. Certain seal species rarely come to land and depend on the arctic ice. The ice provides a home for the seals to rest and acts as a safe place to give birth and raise baby seals. Without the ice they would have a very difficult time adapting to an ice-free environment which they are not used to.

PART E: EFFECTS OF THE MELTING OF THE ARCTIC ICE CAP ON THE BIOSPHERE(CONTINUED) How does the melting ice cap affect hunting and fishing by Aboriginal people?- The arctic ice melting have impacted them by making them change their hunting plan and be more cautious because of a major safety concern(unsafe ice- thin and easily breakable). The Aboriginal people will loose their places to hunt and will have to leave their homes on the ice and loose their territory. How is the sustainability of the biosphere affected by the melting of the Arctic ice cap?-

PART F: ANALYZE AND INTERPERATE How does the melting of the Arctic ice cap show that the Earth’s spheres are interconnected?- Evaporation from the hydrosphere provides for cloud and rain formation in the atmosphere. The atmosphere brings back rainwater to the hydrosphere. Water provides the moisture for weathering and erosion of rocks on and in the geosphere. The geosphere provides the platform for ice melting and water bodies to flow back into the oceans. The atmosphere provides the geosphere with heat and energy needed for rock breakdown and erosion. The geosphere reflects the sun's energy back into the atmosphere. The biosphere receives gases, heat, and sunlight (energy) from the atmosphere. It receives water from the hydrosphere.   Do you think the melting of the Arctic ice cap could be considered a global problem? Why or why not?- I think that the melting of the ice cap is a problem, but not a global problem. The melting doesn’t affect everywhere in the world, only some places--making it not a global problem. The affects of it aren’t super bad and don’t change things dramatically.

Works cited https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_ice_cap https://www.dw.com/en/polar-ice-sheets-melting-faster-than-ever/a-16432199 https://prezi.com/gcksldb1uj61/effects-of-the-melting-arctic-ice-cap/ https://sciencing.com/how-does-polar-ice-melting-affect-the-environment-13400295.html https://prezi.com/zxqbwgmhzrgy/how-does-melting-ice-affect-earths-spheres-and-sustainabilit/ https://www.climate-change-guide.com/melting-polar-ice-caps.html https://www.greenfacts.org/en/arctic-climate-change/l-2/3-sea-level-rise.htm https://prezi.com/gqbjuo2m_xxl/effects-of-arctic-ice-cap-melting/ https://www.climatehotmap.org/global-warming-locations/greenland-ice-sheet.html https://sites.google.com/site/gccclimatechange/the-different-spheres/the-hydrosphere https://www.greenfacts.org/en/arctic-climate-change/l-2/5-arctic-animals.htm https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/seaice/environment/indigenous_impacts.html https://oceansfirstjournal.com/2016/08/17/the-effect-of-melting-arctic-sea-ice-on-arctic-whales/ http://eschooltoday.com/earth-system/interaction-of-the-earths-sphere.html