The ice in the Arctic has been there for hundreds of thousands of years, but is now disappearing. And this affects our entire planet. Hear more in In depth.
Johan Rockström, professor of earth systems research at the University of Potsdam in Germany, believes that more and more research suggests that the Arctic is the key to climate stability on earth:
– The Arctic is a cooling system for the entire planet by returning 90% of the heat from solar radiation. It is a fundamental part of regulating the entire state of the planet.
The global warming goes in some places four times faster in the Arctic than on the rest of the planet.
But what is happening now in the Arctic does not stop there. The ice around the North Pole today functions as the earth’s refrigerator when the sun’s rays are reflected away from the white surface. The refrigerator has been here for hundreds of thousands of years – but already in ten to thirty years, the ice can be completely gone during the summer, according to Johan Rockström.
The disappearing ice also affects the heat circulation in the North Atlantic, which is part of the Gulf Stream. Among other things, this leads to hot water getting stuck down in Antarctica, which accelerates an ice melt there.
Thousands of years ago, the North Pole was a divine and exalted place for man – a guiding star, associated with the fixed point of the firmament – the Pole Star.
Johan Rockström hopes that the central Arctic today will once again be something we look up to like a moral beacon:
– In this time of pandemic crisis we are in now, when we understand that we are all connected to each other.
– Then the Arctic can be a stable point, a “North star”, a guiding light for what it means to be a responsible manager of our own home.
More about the melting ice in the Arctic, you can already hear in Vetenskapsradion På djupet om Nordpole – from paradise to alarm clock.
Also do not miss the P1 documentary “The Arctic Expedition” on SR Play – a collaboration between Vetenskapsradion and P1 documentary.