Date: 10/04/2022

Relevance: GS-3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment, disaster management.

Key Phrases: analysis of Arctic acidification, Permafrost, Arctic Council, Climate Change, Arctic Region, India's Arctic Policy.

Context:

• A team of researchers has flagged the changing chemistry of the western region of the Arctic Ocean.
• It has been discovered that the acidity levels are increasing three to four times faster than ocean waters elsewhere.

More on the news

• The study, published in ‘Science’, the journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
• It is the first analysis of Arctic acidification that includes data from 1994 to 2020.
• The scientists team also identified a strong correlation between the accelerated rate of melting ice and the rate of ocean acidification.

What do scientists predict about the Arctic?

• Scientists have predicted that by 2050, Arctic sea ice will no longer survive the increasingly warm summers.
• This rapid ice melt will cause the ocean’s chemistry to grow more acidic
• The acidification will create life-threatening problems for the diverse population of sea creatures, plants and other living things that depend on a healthy ocean.
• The prevalent fauna such as Crabs, Polar bears, fish and sea birds etc. will get badly affected due to the food chain interlinking.
• The aquatic food chain also has humans as the consumer of seafood which may pose a food security threat and an existential threat to the human race in the long term.

How is acidification taking place?

• The study points out that sea-ice melt is the key mechanism to explain the rapid pH decrease of the Arctic waters
  • Seawater is normally alkaline, with a pH value of around 8.1.
• The study proposes that sea-ice melt changes surface water in three primary ways.
  • The water under the sea ice, which had a deficit of carbon dioxide, now is exposed to the atmospheric carbon dioxide and can take it up freely.
  • The seawater mixed with meltwater is light and can’t mix easily into deeper waters, which means the carbon dioxide is concentrated at the surface.
  • The meltwater dilutes the carbonate ion concentration in the seawater
    • Thus weakening its ability to neutralize the carbon dioxide into bicarbonate and rapidly decreasing ocean pH.

Why is the Arctic Ice melting?

• High albedo of ice and counter loop
  • Ice is more reflective (has a higher albedo) than land or water surfaces
  • Therefore, as global ice cover decreases, the reflectivity of Earth’s surface decreases and the surface warms as it will reflect less radiation.
  • The albedo feedback loop is the reason the Arctic’s warming about three times faster than the planet as a whole.
• Counterclockwise Ice Circulation
  • Cyclones entering the Arctic from Siberia generated counterclockwise winds and ice drifts.
  • This pattern generally reduces the amount of sea ice moving out of the Arctic through the Fram Strait, east of Greenland.
• Darker Ocean Surface
  • The Arctic's bright ice is replaced by a darker open ocean surface, less of the sun’s radiation is reflected back to space, driving additional heating and ice loss.
• Low Pressure System:
  • Due to low pressure system cloudiness over the Arctic increases.
  • Clouds generally block incoming solar radiation, reducing sea ice melt
  • But they can also trap heat lost from the surface.

Impact of Melting Arctic Ice

• Global food security is threatened
  • Polar vortexes, increased heat waves, and unpredictability of weather caused by ice loss are already causing significant damage to crops on which global food systems depend
• Danger to Coastal Communities
  • Global average sea level has risen by about 7-8 inches since 1900, and it’s getting worse.
  • Rising seas endanger coastal cities and small island nations by exacerbating Coastal Flooding and storm surge.
• Global Climate Change
  • The Arctic and Antarctic act like the world’s refrigerators and balance out other parts of the world that absorb heat.
  • The loss of ice and the warming waters will affect sea levels, salinity levels, and current and precipitation patterns.
• Loss of Methane Store
  • Permafrost in the Arctic region (permanently frozen ground) stores large amounts of methane
  • As more arctic ice is lost, more rapidly permafrost will melt. This will result in a vicious cycle that may result in a climate catastrophe.
• Impact on indigenous ways of life
  • It will impact habitat, change habitable limits and thus impact the entire food web.
• Biodiversity Threat
  • Melting of the Arctic ice puts the Arctic region’s vibrant biodiversity under serious threat.

Relevance of Arctic for India

• The Arctic region is significant due to the shipping routes that run through it.
• According to an analysis published by the MP-IDSA, the adverse effects of the Arctic are not just impacting the availability of mineral and hydrocarbon resources, but also transforming global shipping routes.
• India can play a constructive role in securing a stable Arctic.
• The region holds immense geopolitical importance as the Arctic is projected to be ice-free by 2050
  • The world powers are making a beeline to exploit the region rich in natural resources.
• India’s Climate
  • India’s extensive coastline makes us vulnerable to the impact of Arctic warming on ocean currents, weather patterns, fisheries and most importantly, monsoon.
• Monitoring of Third Pole
  • Scientific research in Arctic developments, in which India has a good record, will contribute to the understanding of climatic changes in the Third Pole — the Himalayas.

Way forward

• India has observer status in the Arctic Council which is an intergovernmental forum for cooperation on the Arctic environment and development aspects.
• India’s presence on the Arctic Council should be underpinned by a strategic policy that encompassed economic, environmental, scientific and political aspects.
• India must also officially appoint an ‘Arctic ambassador/representative’ who will represent and voice India’s perspectives on Arctic affairs.
• India’s Arctic Policy is also likely to raise awareness about the Arctic within India and vice-versa through conduct of programmes, seminars and events in India and in the Arctic.

Conclusion

• The sea-ice loss at such a high rate is a matter of concern for all the lives on Earth.
• There is a need to establish a balance between anthropological activities and carrying capacity of the environment to sustain the planet for future generations
• Therefore the need of the hour is to treat the Arctic melting as a severe global issue and act accordingly.

Source: Indian Express

Mains Question:

Q. What is the correlation between the melting of ice in the Arctic and increased ocean acidity? Discuss the impact of melting ice on sea levels and precipitation patterns globally. (250 words).