Identification and Exploration of the Different Threats Facing the Arctic and Antarctic Region
The earth’s polar region seems like frozen wastelands but they are complex as well as very fragile ecosystems. The regions are always considered to be more pristine since the local atmospheric contamination sources are absent (Wojtun & Ronikie, 2018, p. 2). These ecosystems are the Arctic and Antarctic ecosystems. Nevertheless, while they are more famous for polar bears and the penguins, these ecosystems teem with a lot more, involving, foxes, wolves, sheep and reindeer, plants, insects as well as rare microorganisms. More importantly, they make up the polar ecosystem. Regarding the Arctic and Antarctic ecosystem, some threats face the species residing in these areas. In this case, there are current threats and future threats, for instance, global warming, resource exploitation, pollution, oil and gas development, climate change among others.
Regarding global warming, it is threatening for the existence of the Arctic and Antarctic regions. As such, global warming is the increase of the temperature on the earth extensively as a result of the accumulation of greenhouse gases (Trenberth, 2018, p. 1). For instance, greenhouse gases are gases that trap heat within the earth’s atmosphere, for example, the carbon dioxide gas. According to various studies, the causes of global warming are openly debated but perhaps human activity contributes to most of it. Nevertheless, there are ways by which human beings contribute to global warming and are highly varied. They include flying in a plane, driving a car, flying a plane as well as washing clothing with hot water instead of cold water. As a result, global warming has led to breaking apart and melting away of giant sections of polar land ice. The breaking and melting of these sections of polar land ice have contributed to the rising ocean levels. Everyone into the world is affected and the polar habitats are destroyed. Currently, weather patterns have changed a close monitored experimental lakes area in the boreal forest of northern Ontario (Kawade, Harigi & Gaikward (2010, p. 334)
According to Hagen et al (n. d, p. 814: Winkelmann et al, 2015), indicates that in future, the changes in the polar climate will have a direct impact on the great ice sheets, ice caps, as well as glaciers of the polar regions. Nevertheless, there is a high likelihood that increasing temperature over the continent as well as changing storm tracks will cause increased precipitation and thickening of the ice sheet; however, there still exists low confidence in the possibility that the West Antarctic ice sheet will retreat dramatically in the coming centuries. The determinants of the precipitation change and other hydrological components are the changes in weather systems and their tracks (Trenberth et al, 2000, p. 17).
Another threat in the polar ecosystem is natural resource exploitation. More importantly, this is a future threat in the Antarctic and the Arctic region. Regarding this, the energy companies and the governments are aware of the presence of the melting ice in the polar region. As such, it is becoming more and more likely that Antarctica will eventually become warmer enough hence being exploited. The Antarctic may be exploited for things such as minerals and the places like the Arctic will be more enough for oil-drilling on a scale that seems to be massive. As a result, this will pose an environmental disaster to the arctic and Antarctic regions. In this case, mining as well as oil drilling has proven to be everywhere in the world, for instance from Africa to Europe, and from the Amazon to the Appalachian mountains among others. In the future, the inevitable large oil spills occurring in the Arctic and Antarctic region will kill countless marine, land as well as avian creatures.
Pollution is another threat to the species that survive in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Regarding this, oil spills are one form of pollution, albeit, without large scale drilling of polar oil, pollution is posing its effects on the polar ecosystems. For example, the pollution that individuals produce in various places even as far away from the polar regions of Africa, find their way to the polar region through sees or air. Additionally, human beings burn fuels that are dirty whose toxic substances are carried by air and deposited on the snow in these areas. Moreover, human beings dump wastes that are toxic into the waterways that eventually find their way to the Polar Regions through the oceans.
Besides, the Arctic is under a great threat from a multitude of environmental changes induced by human activities (Leggett, 2018, p. 6), most importantly, through climatic changes. Concerning this, climatic changes will cause the single greatest impact in the Arctic and Antarctic regions in the coming years (Anisimov et al, 2014. p. 1575). For instance, a global change in temperature of about one degree translates to a threefold increase in temperature in the arctic as well as the Antarctic region. This indicates that without cuts in the emissions of the carbon IV oxide, the Barents Sea will be free from ice in the many years that are approaching. For this reason, there have been associated changes in sea-ice cover, water column property, and processes that include primary sedimentation as well as coupling with the bottom layer (Anisimov et al, 2007, p. 659). As a result, this habitat loss will probably be fatal for the species residing and surviving in the region, for example, the polar bear and other organisms. To maintain the structure of the ecosystem as well as the function of the Arctic and Antarctic, it will be necessary to prevent further climatic effects, making the arctic less vulnerable to the coming effects of climate change. Vulnerability is the degree to which a system is susceptible to, or unable to cope with, adverse effects of stress; whereas adaptive capacity, or resilience, is an ability to adjust to stress, to realize opportunities or to cope with consequences (Anisimov et al, 2007, p. 658). This is done through obtaining the buffering of the capacity of the Arctic ecosystem by decreasing the synergetic effects of human threats in the region. On the other hand, climate change prevention can only be reached through global cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
Comparing and Critically Assessing the Relative Importance and Severity of the Threats
Besides the rising temperature affecting the weather and terrain, they also have a significant impact on wildlife. As changes in temperatures occur, many species migrate further to the northern part of the region where there are cool temperatures. However, not all animals have the capacity to migrate. These areas receive new species of animals and organisms, as a result, the tourist may find it fun moving in such areas to fulfill their spirit of adventure. additionally, the clean air in the Antarctica, water, soil as well as ice are of utmost importance to science for understanding how the environment is changing naturally and as a result of human activity have been contaminated as a result of the incessant influx of the tourists. the tourists visit the region without appropriate kitting as well as behaviors including uncontrolled disposals of items that are used, for example, glasses, food, woods, and chemicals (Abubakar, 2016, p. 8). Nevertheless, in these poles, the species such as the penguins have been threatened; therefore, their populations have drastically reduced. According to many scientists, they reveal that the population of polar bears will be lower in the future.
Although many scientists posit that human activity is directly responsible for causing climate change, the primary cause is the burning of fossil fuels which results in the accumulation of greenhouse gases. Regarding this, oil burning, coal burning as well as a gas burning always traps heat in the atmosphere; hence, increasing temperatures, therefore, it causes glaciers and ice sheets to melt. On the other hand, drilling of fossil fuels is a significant contributor to the climatic change (Koyama, 2017, p. 80: Lincoln, 2005, p. 622). Through this process, methane gas is emitted which eventually locks in heat more effectively than carbon dioxide. Nevertheless, the glacial melt is important since the ice melt exposes the earth beneath. More importantly, the glaciers absorb approximately 20 % of the heat from the sun and reflect the remaining heat. However, if the earth is exposed, the glacier reflects less heat, trapping more warmth in the atmosphere. In nature, carbon IV oxide is exchanged between the atmosphere, plants animals through photosynthesis, respiration as well as decomposition. A small amount of carbon IV oxide is also emitted in volcanic eruptions. Therefore, this is balanced by an equivalent amount that is removed by chemical weathering of rocks (Cicerone, & Nurse, n. d, p. 6).
For these reasons, human beings must do their part to help in reducing the causes as well as the effect of pollution. Furthermore, human beings must understand how their actions impact the environment and what they can do to reduce the carbon footprint. For example, choosing to drive less as a step towards changing habits as well as limiting the effects on the environment. As a society, renewable sources of energy must be developed.