Sea Ice

Antarctica is warming roughly twice as fast as the rest of the planet, putting its vast ice sheets, surrounding oceans, and unique ecosystems at growing risk. A new study led by researchers from the Australian National University and the University of New South Wales warns that the continent may face sudden and potentially irreversible changes. Without sharp global reductions in carbon emissions, these shifts could reverberate far beyond Antarctica, affecting ocean currents, weather patterns, and coastal communities across Australia and around the world.

In the 1990s, the Greenland Ice Sheet as well as the rest of the Arctic region were observed to be measurably thawing as a result of human-caused global warming. At that time, most of Antarctica’s vast ice cap seemed to be securely frozen. Conventional wisdom was that Antarctica’s ice sheets were going to remain stable and were not going to melt much.

Sea ice in the Southern Ocean is melting, leading to increased ocean heat loss and stronger storms. We’ll speak with a climate scientist to learn more.And New York’s largest teachers’ union is backing a proposal to ban cell phones in classrooms across the state.

After record-breaking heat in the first half of 2016, Arctic sea ice is trending low. For the last three decades, the ice has been disappearing at a…