What is the polar ice cap ?

An ice cap is a type of glacier that covers the surrounding area with large amounts of ice that exceeds no more than 50,000 km2. Due to their position (usually polar), their vast surface, and their albedo, they play a major role in stabilizing the Earth’s climate. There are currently two polar caps or Inlandsis, one in Antarctica and one in Greenland.

Polar ice cap melting :

Compared to the 1990s, the polar ice caps are now melting 6x times faster, according to the most complete analysis to date. The ice loss from Greenland and Antarctica is tracking the worst-case climate warming scenario set out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), scientists say.

Rising sea levels are one of the most damaging long-term impacts of the climate crisis, and the contribution of Greenland and Antarctica has been making it worse. New analysis updates and combined recent ice mass studies predicted that 2019 will have been a record-breaking year in terms of rising sea levels.

The consequences of the melting of the polar cap :

No part of the world will be spared from the consequences of global warming. Warming oceans, melting ice caps, and glaciers are the leading causes of rising sea levels. By 2050, over one billion people could be affected by global warming.

The unprecedented melting of the ice caps and glaciers of Greenland and Antarctica is one of the leading causes of why sea levels are rising. We can still save parts of our cryosphere, but we must act now.

Solution to slow the melting of the ice cap :

An international team of scientists published a study in a journal called The Cryosphere, where they proposed an original solution to the problem of the melting ice sheets. These scientists proposed building a wall around parts of the ocean that is getting impacted by the melting ice sheets. Building this wall will hopefully prevent the sea levels from rising because this wall will help contain all of the water being melted by the ice sheets.