- NASA scientists, tasked with monitoring the rate at which Greenland’s ice sheet in the Arctic Circle is melting, recently reported that the sheet had thawed at an ‘unprecedented’ rate over the 2012 summer months.
- NASA said that almost all Greenland’s ice cover had melted to some degree – even at its centre, where the ice is two miles thick – a phenomenon not recorded since 1889.
- Before this year, the largest stretch of surface melt encountered by Greenland was to just over half its expanse.
- And as to the underlying cause behind the accelerated melt, NASA has not yet been able to determine whether the melt can be put down to natural causes, or has been induced by manmade climate change – a sure source for argument between anti-climate change campaigners and the sceptic camp.
In Labs, we wanted to hear what you suspect the underlying causes of the melt were. So we asked:
Do you think that the melting of Greenland’s ice sheet in the Arctic Circle is a natural phenomenon; or rather is it caused by man-made climate change, or a combination of both?
- A significant portion of participants in the discussion believed that the recent melting of Greenland’s ice sheet in the Arctic Circle was caused by a combination of both natural and man-made causes.
Natural & man-made
- The majority of participants said they believed the recent melting in the Arctic Circle could be put partly down to a natural process, but was being sped up by the actions of humanity – citing the dumping of chemical waste as a major problem in their book.
- Expanding on this, others said that while they thought the use of man-made chemicals should be reduced, ultimately they believed it would not stop the onslaught of nature melting Greenland’s ice sheets.
Natural phenomenon only
- Taking a different stance in the discussion, those participants who thought that the Arctic melt an exclusively natural phenomenon concluded as much on the ground that it had happened before.
- They tended to view Greenland’s extraordinary melt-rate as being part of a natural cycle, and one that would be played out regardless of any attempts humanity could make to try and counteract it.
Man-made causes only
- Those participants who said that the melting of the Greenland ice sheet was due to man-made causes argued their case in a variety of ways.
- Some participants said that human activity was increasing the natural incidence of Greenland melting which, they claim, would have notable side effects, from rising sea levels, flooding, and increased temperatures.
- Other explanations from this group indicated concern that man-made causes such as high pollution levels would lead to severe problems for poorer countries in the future. Some participants who believed the Artic melt was largely man-made were sceptical about what could be done to address the issue at hand.
- Conversely, other participants in this group argued that radical steps should be taken to reduce man’s impact on the planet, whether by investing in renewable energy sources, reducing pollution levels, or by making governments more accountable for their carbon footprint, as a few suggestions put forward.
Melting of Greenland's ice sheet- What has caused it?
(Click on the titles below to read the views of Labs participants)
Viewpoint 1- The Arctic melt is a NATURAL OCCURRENCE
“There is no action mankind can do to prevent the force of nature” Jon, Midlands
“The planet has always gone through change and it will always go through change. Do not be so pompous to think that you can change it!” Anon
“Our planet is changing and evolving all the time and we need to accept that it will happen no matter what we do” Anon
“This is not a new phenomenon, it has happened before, maybe not in our lifetime. Why worry about it! There are too many 'experts' bothering us nowadays” Rob S, Clacton
“Scientists should know better than to create a whole web of ideas about a phenomenon that has only just happened – and as they say, it has happened before” Anon
Viewpoint 2 - The melt is purely MAN-MADE
“We live on an island, a small, mostly flat, bit of land in the middle of water. A huge chunk of ice just slid into that water (off of another bit of land, which is important since ice that was already in water melting is no big deal, but ice that was out of the water now melting in it is) and, well...I can't see how this ends well for us” Dee D, Yorkshire
“The rate of melting has consequences for all of us in terms of sea level rise (loss of land and potential immigration of refugees.) We should all be responsible for our individual impact on climate change (low energy living as far as possible) but global corporates (in particular) and governments need to be held to account with better legislation to prevent exploitation of resources around the world at the expense of less developed countries who welcome the wealth (through employment) but have no concept of the impacts of the gift-bearing industrialists” Sarah, Poole
“Recycle more, use fewer fossil fuels, have the courage to change UK policies on use of fossil fuels (i.e. stop bowing to pressure from self-interested industries and stand up for what is right) and put pressure on the international community to do the same. Use a combination of renewable’s energy sources and nuclear energy (until renewable technology develops sufficiently to supply all our needs). The UK government should be brave enough to stand up to industry. It is probably too late to reverse all the damage, but if we act now perhaps not all of humanity will expire in the heat” Anon, London
“The ice sheet melting in Greenland is not just a one-off, phenomenon. This type of event will happen all over the world as the effects of global warming keep progressing. With more and more pollutants being pumped into the Earth's atmosphere, large ice sheet melting will become more commonplace. What should we do about it? The obvious answer is to curb the effects of global warming by reducing our co2 emissions and switching to more environmentally sustainable energy sources. Of course, climate change takes a 30 year view and we won't be able to see what our effects on the earth are today for another 30 years. If this event is in relation to our actions 30 years ago, then I fear for the immediate future” Anon
“It would take a radical and rapid change in the lifestyles of the world peoples, and a dramatic reduction in population, to even stem the recent melting. Whilst such changes are essential, there is little chance that the human race will change its ways. So the world needs to prepare itself for more natural disasters and to rising sea levels” Pat N, Swindon
“Why are we not concentrating on those countries that are continuing to ignore fossil fuel emissions? There should be a world convention to cut the use of cars or at least dispose of those cars that are worst polluters” Anon
Viewpoint 3 - Natural & man-made causes
“Although it is almost certainly a natural part of the Earth's cycles, its effects may be worsened by human activity. Drawing attention to this area should remind us that man-made chemicals, for example, have no place in this world.” Beverley, Staffordshire
“Human interference has probably had the effect of speeding up these changes and we should be aware of the impact we are having, but the changes are inevitable and cannot be stopped.” Shona R, Glasgow
“Generally it will only cause sea levels to rise to a certain point and low lying coastal areas and islands will be affected. However we are coming to the end of the ice age we have been in for millennia and have known this was happening so preparations can be made to protect the lives of the people affected.” Craig J, Caerphilly
“This has happened several times throughout the history of the world. People who are worried are, in my opinion, over-reacting to a hyped up problem which the UK Government in particular, uses to raise bogus tax revenue.” Duncan R, Hertfordshire
What's your view? Are there any other factors which you think have caused the recent Arctic melt?
Add your voice to the debate in Disqus below
