Natural vs. Anthropogenic Forcings

NASA emphasizes the importance of geothermal heat originating naturally under the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which is, in other words, a potential mantle plume that has been in place for millions of years (Cermak, 2017). This heating contributes to melting underneath the ice sheet and could be an explanation for the instability in some regions, such as Marie Byrd Land: Natural vs. Anthropogenic Forcings.

NASA, however, makes it clear that this geothermal activity is not a recent discovery, and it does not negate the contribution of human-induced climate change. Instead, it introduces an additional factor that must be considered in models of Antarctic ice behavior. By contrast, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) considers that most of the recent warming in the Antarctic and ice loss is caused by human activity, particularly the increase in greenhouse gas emissions since the Industrial Revolution.

The results provided by IPCC indicate that the anthropogenic influence (burning fossil fuels) is the most powerful factor in the atmosphere and ocean warming and the consequent acceleration of ice melting, particularly in the West Antarctic coastline.

Whereas NASA emphasizes the influence of natural internal processes within the Earth, which affect the melting of ice sheets, the IPCC indicates that anthropogenic climate change is the primary factor behind the rapid changes currently being observed. They both agree that there are various forces at work, but the difference lies in the focus of their studies, which is that NASA studied a long-term natural heat source.

In contrast, the IPCC based its findings on recent human-induced environmental change. The combination of these views demonstrates that understanding the changes in Antarctica requires considering both natural and anthropogenic forcings (Whyte, 2013). However, the modern rate of change is primarily attributed to human influence, according to the scientific community, as reflected in the IPCC reports.

References

Cermak, A. (2017, November 7). Hot news from the Antarctic underground. NASA Science. https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/earth-science/climate-science/hot-news-from-the-antarctic-underground/

Whyte, I. (2013). A dictionary of environmental history. Bloomsbury Publishing.

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Instructions:

The textbook states that the climate picture of Antarctica is different because it is a continent. The West Antarctic coast has shown some of the most rapid warming on Earth.

Click on the link and read the short article on the nasa.gov website, then discuss NASA’s finding vs. the IPCC findings regarding natural vs. anthropogenic forcings.

Natural vs. Anthropogenic Forcings

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/hot-news-from-the-antarctic-underground

Notes:

• The NASA article seems to have been deleted. I’ve attached it as a PDF

Textbook(s):

• A Dictionary of Environmental History by Ian Whyte