Last Ice Area (LIA)

Last Ice Area (LIA)

Subject: Environment

Context: In a paper published in the journal “Communications Earth & Environment”, researchers note that in August 2020 the area where the Last Ice Area (LIA) is located, experienced a record low concentration of sea ice.

Concept:

The National Geographic noted that while climate projections forecast the total disappearance of summer ice in the Arctic by the year 2040, the only place that would be able to withstand a warming climate would be this area of ice called the “Last Ice Area”.

Importance

• The area is important because it was thought to be able to help ice-dependent species as ice in the surrounding areas melted away.
• The area is used by polar bears to hunt for seals who use ice to build dens for their offspring. Walruses too, use the surface of the ice for foraging.
• As the sea ice disappears, the Last Ice Area will continue to provide a suitable home for ice-associated life and the people who depend upon these living resources.
• Polar bears need sea ice to hunt, and the Last Ice Area can be a refuge. About a quarter of the world’s polar bears live in or around the region. Most of the world’s whales spend at least part of the year in the Last Ice Area.
• Global temperatures are affected by Arctic ice, and its ability to reflect the sun’s heat.

Recent findings,

• Communications Earth & Environment”, researchers note that in August 2020 the area where the Last Ice Area (LIA) is located, experienced a record low concentration of sea ice.
• Sea-ice has been thinning for years, a trend they think has been prevalent because of climate change.A part of the Arctic’s ice called “Last Ice Area”, located north of Greenland, has melted before expected.
• About 80 percent of thinning can be attributed to weather-related factors such as winds that break up and move the ice around. The remaining 20 percent can be attributed to longer-term thinning of the ice due to global warming.
• During the winter and spring of 2020 , had patches of older, thicker ice that had drifted into there, but there was enough thinner, newer ice that melted to expose open ocean,
• This open ocean then began a cycle of absorbing heat energy which then melted more ice.
• The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) notes that climate change is shrinking the extent of Arctic summer sea ice, which is not only important for animals but also the local Inuit communities.