Arctic sea ice is decreasing.
Sea ice is frozen seawater floating on the ocean. It forms in the Arctic and Antarctic during winter and shrinks in summer but never disappears completely.
This ice is super important because it helps keep our Earth cool. But here’s the bad news: Arctic sea ice has been shrinking due to climate change. Some scientists think it might disappear in the summers in future years (oh no!).
Effect of arctic sea ice loss.
The Arctic sea ice acts as a shiny mirror, bouncing heat back into space, keeping our planet cool. But when the ice melts, less heat is bounced away, making the world hotter and causing more heatwaves.
If the sea ice melts, ocean levels will rise, flooding cities and islands. This will also put Arctic animals like polar bears and foxes in danger, as they might have trouble finding food.
The ice also holds a lot of methane, a greenhouse gas that causes climate change. If the ice melts, more of this gas will escape, speeding up global warming.
Refreezing Arctic ice.
Scientists have a cool plan to save Arctic ice! They want to pump seawater over the frozen Arctic Ocean to thicken the ice.
A company called Real Ice tested this idea. They drilled holes in the ice and pumped ocean water onto the snow. The water froze and made more ice. Isn’t that a super cool idea to help our planet?
Real Ice’s future plan.
Real Ice tested their ice-saving idea on a big area, like a football field. But to save all the Arctic ice, they need to work faster.
So, they’re making an underwater drone that can travel through the Arctic, drilling holes in the ice to pump seawater. They hope to have the first drone ready by 2025 and will make more to save all the sea ice.
