Polar Ice Caps Melting- A Hallmark to Vanishing Ice along with a Global Climate Change- and Addressing Solutions to it

Author(s): Ifrah Amjad, Rabbiya Noor, Ayesha Khalid, Samreen Riaz

There is a firm evidence that polar ice-caps are, in places, swiftly melting. This is both in response to emergence from the last ice age but also ongoing rises in atmospheric carbon dioxide. In the Arctic and the Antarctic Peninsula the number of glaciers retreating and retreat rates are increasing and there is much consensus on some effects of this on biodiversity. Ice reduction is leading to new sea- ways, and habitat for ice associated organisms is regionally dying out. More light and heat will get entrance into the water column, increasing primary productivity and sinks for CO2. Melt water flow into seas is causing freshening, stratification, and near-shore sedimentation. These factors negatively influence on biodiversity by clogging and burying the plankton eaters living on the seabed. Changes in water-mass properties and current dynamics will influence the deeper communities of animals, even the deep sea by, for example, by carrying less oxygen. Such processes will make polar regions more susceptible to invasive species. Losing Antarctic species is a loss to global biodiversity and some evidence suggests particular sensitivity to environmental aspects.