Zombie Ice

In News

• Recently, the Scientists predicted that the melting of Zombie Ice will raise global sea level by 10 inches.

About Zombie Ice

• Background:
  • The vast majority of Greenland has been covered by an ice sheet for 18 million years due to being largely located within the Arctic Circle.
• Raising the global sea levels:
  • The melting of the Greenland ice sheet will inevitably raise the global sea levels by at least 10.6 inches or 27 centimetres.
    • This is because of zombie ice which is certain to melt away from the ice cap and blend into the ocean.
• What is ‘zombie ice’?
  • It is also referred to as dead or doomed ice.
  • Zombie ice is one that is not accumulating fresh snow even while continuing to be part of the parent ice sheet. 
    • Such ice is committed to melting away and increasing sea levels.
• What has led to this?
  • This is on account of warming that has already happened.
  • The research points to an equilibrium state where snowfall from the higher reaches of the Greenland ice cap flows down to recharge edges of the glaciers and thicken them.
• What happens next?
  • The scientists have projected that 3.3% of Greenland’s total ice volume will melt and this will happen even if the global temperature is stabilized at the current level.
• What does a rise in sea-level mean?
  • It is bad news for millions that live in coastal zones. 8 of the world’s 10 largest cities are near the coast. 
    • Low lying coastal areas will take a harder hit.
  • Rising sea levels will make flooding, high tides and storms more frequent and worse as their impact will reach more inland. 
  • It is a threat to local economies and infrastructure.
  • The World Economic Forum’s 2019 Global Risks Report noted that already an estimated 800 million people in more than 570 coastal cities are vulnerable to a sea-level rise of 0.5 metres by 2050.
  • According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment, sea levels would rise by two to five inches by 2100 as a result of the Greenland glacier melting.

Source: IE