The Vanishing Arctic

01 / Sea-Ice Changes

On thin ice

Since the beginning of the industrial revolution (~1850) our polar ice caps have been melting at an alarming rate. Data charting the surface-area-coverage and thickness of sea-ice from 1850-2000 shows just how dire things are. Press 'Play' or move the sliders above to see how things have changed.

In the arctic circle, sea-ice which would reach down towards North America and Europe has largely been restricted to the most northern tip of the globe. In the south, sea-ice now barely encompasses the borders of Antarctica. Overall, the footprint of sea-ice coverage has reduced 69% from 1850 to 2000. Even in the areas where sea ice still forms, its thickness has reduced dramatically.

02 / Climate Change

Too hot to handle

Over the past decades, a consensus in the scientific world has taken hold; our climate is changing and humans are to blame. Green house gas emissions from the fossil fuels we use to power our modern lives are emitting gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) which, due to their molecular structure, trap heat within our atmosphere.

Since we started burning these fuels at scale around the industrial revolution, tons upon tons of these gases have filled our atmosphere and induced a "green house effect," insulating heat from the Sun. This process, alongside mass deforestation, are noted among many experts to be the leading causes of climate change, both of which are a product of human civilization.

03 / Cycle Disruption

A delicate balance

While a 1.4°C change in temperature may not seem substantial to humans, even small temperature fluctuations can greatly impact Earth's natural processes, especially the formation of sea-ice. Each year, as the seasons wash over each hemisphere, the polar regions of our Earth go through phases of sea-ice freeze, and melt. However, while this cycle used to be balanced, rising temperatures have caused it to go off course.

04 / Ice Melt Flux

More melt. Less freeze.

The shift in the sea-ice creation cycle can be visualized in the shift in "ice melt flux." This statistic shows the millimeters per square meter of ice which is being lost each second. As the months go on, the poles go through these melting and freezing periods, but more recently they have become unbalanced.

Warmer global temperatures means that the melting period of the year is becoming ever longer, as the freezing window becomes more narrow. Simply put, there is more time for ice to melt than there is time for it to freeze.

05 / A Wetter World

What goes up comes down

As our planet heats up, evaporation takes place along the oceans surface; sending water vapor into our atmosphere. A warming atmosphere can actually hold more moisture (about 7% per 1°C increase in temperature) and all that added moisture must fall out eventually. The accompanied figure displays global rainfall trends each decade. Press play above to view the drastic changes in the distribution of rainfall across the Earth over the course of a year.

06 / Shifting Patterns

Rain, redrawn

Global warming does not imply "more rain everywhere." Instead, global warming impacts precipitation patterns by causing heavy rainfall in some areas and increasing drought in other areas. Notice how the zones of high and low rainfall move through time; global warming which melts sea-ice also reprograms and intensifies the water cycle.

07 / Specific Humidity

More room for water-vapor

As mentioned above, a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture in it (about 7% more per 1°C increase in temperature). Global relative humidity, which measures water-vapor levels relative to the maximum capacity of water-vapor that air can hold at a specific temperature (measured as a %), has actually gone down as a consequence of this phenomena. Specific humidity, the measure of the mass of water-vapor in a particular mass of air, has risen however.

This tells us that, while the water-vapor capacity of our atmosphere has outpaced moisture levels, there is still more water in our air now, then there was 150 years ago. By sliding the dividing bar on the Specific Humidity chart on the right, you can directly compare air-moisture levels in 1850 to your selected decade. Notice how much more intense the specific humidity levels have gotten around the equator.

08 / Wet Bulb Temperatures

Too wet to sweat

Higher levels of specific humidity can increase rainfall and storm severity, but they can also raise 'Wet-bulb' temperatures. Wet-bulb temperature is a measurement which accounts for humidity's impact on our experience with heat. Our bodies can handle dry, 100°F days better than very humid, 100°F days because of the way our sweat interacts with the air.

When the air around us is saturated with water-vapor, our sweat, which is our primary mechanism for cooling ourselves, cannot evaporate as easily. There exists a threshold where if air-temperatures and specific humidity levels are high enough, our bodies become unable to cool themselves down on their own. For instance, 90°F heat with 16 g/kg specific humidity can prove life-threatening if left outside with no cooling interventions.

09 / Climate Refugees

An Unprepared World

As water-vapor levels and temperatures increase, so too will the amount of dangerous wet-bulb temperature events. Without a cool shelter or access to air-conditioning, people simply cannot survive through these times. Now, the bulk of these events take place along the equator, but as our temperatures continue to rise, the mid-western and south-eastern United States are in grave danger.

Scientists predict that dangerous and life-threatening wet-bulb temperature events could occur for up to weeks at a time in these areas. In places like southern Louisiana, it could be dangerous to spend long periods of time outside for over 10% of the year. These conditions are manageable when communities have access to air-conditioning, but not everyone does. Additionally, high A/C use strains power grids and a power outage during an event like this creates an instant life-threatening crisis. Residents of New Orleans, LA have already been warned to leave their homes due to inevitable sea-level rises; but if trends continue, people in wet-bulb threatened places like Kansas City, MO may need to move to avoid a life-threatening climate.

The Vanishing Arctic.