What causes more ice in the Antarctic than in the Arctic?

The Antarctic region is a large landmass, with an area of about 14 million square kilometers, known as the world's "seventh continent". The Arctic Ocean occupies a large area, about 13.1 million square kilometers, and the heat capacity of the water is large, which can absorb more heat and then release it slowly.

As a result, the weather in Antarctica is colder than in the Arctic. Antarctica is the coldest land in the world, the average annual temperature in the middle of the continent is only minus 56, the lowest temperature has reached minus 88 3, the coldest month (July The average temperature is minus 70 minus 20; The warmest month (January) also has an average temperature below 0. In the Arctic, the coldest month in the Arctic Sea (January, the average temperature is minus 40 minus 20, and July and August are the warm season, and the average temperature is mostly below 8.

The climate in the central Arctic Ocean is even milder than on the edges, with the coldest areas east of central Greenland and the lower Lena River in Siberia, with a minimum temperature of minus 68 in Vilhoyansk, Russia.

So there is more ice in the Antarctic than in the Arctic. The glaciers of the Antarctic continent move from high places in all directions, breaking into many huge ice blocks at the seashore and then floating on the oceans around the continent, forming tall icebergs and ice barriers. Most of the Arctic ice is deposited on the island of Greenland.

The Antarctic is dominated by land, and the Arctic is dominated by the ocean. The specific heat capacity of seawater is large, and the heat absorption is slow and the heat release is slow. The specific heat capacity of land is small, and it absorbs heat quickly and releases heat quickly.

The Arctic is surrounded by cold currents, which isolate heat exchange with other oceans. Antarctica has a high altitude, thin air, and poor atmospheric heat retention. Antarctica is covered in snow and ice, reflecting away both light and heat.

In contrast, the Arctic region has a small land area and is mostly the Arctic Ocean. Due to the large heat capacity of seawater, it can absorb more heat, and the heat is dissipated more slowly, so the average annual temperature there is higher than that of Antarctica, around 8. As a result, there are fewer glaciers in the Arctic than in the Antarctic, and most of them accumulate on Greenland.

Water flows from high to low, and the Antarctic is low, so there is a lot of water in Antarctica, and when the temperature is low, it freezes.

The ice on land is mainly in Antarctica.

Here's why:

1. About 98 of the land surrounded by the Antarctic sea is covered by continental ice sheets, and the average thickness of these ice sheets can reach nearly 2,000 meters, which does not melt all year round. Antarctic.

It is cold all year round, it is not affected by the warm currents of the ocean, it is far away from other continents, and there is no influence of human activities, so the glaciers are relatively large.

2. Antarctica.

It is the fifth largest continent in the world, with an area of 14 million square kilometers, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.

and the Indian Ocean. With an average altitude of 2,350 meters, Antarctica is one of the seven continents.

The highest continent in the middle altitude, the average thickness of ice and snow is more than 2,000 meters, and the ice and snow are freshwater, so Antarctica is the continent with the richest freshwater resources in the world.

3. The Arctic region is mainly the Arctic Ocean, where there are only ocean glaciers, and they are also affected by the warm ocean current, resulting in the glaciers are not so large. The Arctic Ocean is mainly surrounded by Eurasia and North America, with an ice area of about 8.5 million square kilometers, which is only about 60 of the Antarctic ice area.

Consequences of melting glaciers in the North and South Poles:

1. Island nations disappear and people are displaced: If sea levels continue to rise rapidly, some remote island nations could be submerged, such as the Maldives.

In addition, studies show that by 2100, 2 billion people, or one-fifth of the world's population, will be displaced inland due to rising sea levels.

2. Reduced drinking water: Millions of people around the world rely on glaciers for drinking water, especially in Central Asia.

The Hindu Kush and the Andes Mountains of South America.

The disappearance of glaciers is bound to be catastrophic.

3. Endangering food**: Rising sea levels contribute to global warming.

4. Triggering a public health crisis: After the sea level rises, coastal areas are prone to flooding, and floods will wash a large amount of untreated sewage into rivers, roads and homes, polluting water sources, endangering wildlife and leading to the spread of infectious diseases.

5. Undermining the global economy: More than ninety percent of the world's ** is carried out through the ocean, and ports are vital to the global economy. Rising sea levels can damage many port facilities, and those who work in port-related jobs may face unemployment.

6. Vicious circle: the white ice layer of the North and South Poles can reflect the sun's rays, keeping the global temperature mild, if the glaciers continue to melt, the solar energy will be absorbed by the ocean, and the warming of the ocean will cause the global heat, causing more glaciers to melt, this vicious circle will make the climate disaster more serious.

The South Pole has land, while the North Pole does not. (A land loop around the North Pole). Plus the North Atlantic Warm Current can penetrate deep into the Arctic Ocean.

This means that, due to the heat of land and sea, the coldest places around the Arctic in winter are not in the Arctic, but in northern Asia and North America, while the South Pole is around the South Pole. As the warm and humid air currents penetrate deep into the North Pole, it is not surprising that even in winter there are environments above 0 degrees around the North Pole. In contrast, the Antarctic winter is stable below -50 degrees Celsius, with a limit of -80 degrees.

As a result, for tens of millions of years, after the Paleocene Extreme Heat Event, the Antarctic began to steadily "store ice" all the way, while the Arctic could not, and the icebergs grew and ebbed with the change of seasons. Probably only Greenland has some permanent icebergs. Over time, there will inevitably be more ice in the Antarctic than in the Arctic – because it was accumulated over thousands of years or even earlier.

Under the gravitational force of 146 tons per square meter, ice is converted to ice, and 34 tons to ice. The cause of the pressure is that the temperature of the ice is as high as 150, and when the temperature is reached, ice is formed. 5. It should not be consumed excessively, so as not to affect the health of the body.

The South and North Poles are the coldest places on Earth, where cold winds howl, temperatures are low, and there is a snow-covered, silvery-white world all year round. Since the Antarctic region is a continent with a weak heat storage capacity, the heat gained in the summer is quickly ejected by the radiant draft, resulting in the average annual temperature of the Antarctic is only one, so the temperature of the Antarctic glaciers is much lower than the average temperature of the Arctic. A large amount of ice floats in the ocean around the Antarctic continent, forming a huge iceberg.

In contrast, most of the Arctic region has a land area smaller than the Arctic Ocean. The average annual temperature there is about higher than in Antarctica because the sea has a large heat capacity, can absorb more heat, and the heat is dissipated more slowly. As a result, there are fewer glaciers in the Arctic compared to Antarctica, and Greenland accumulates most of its glaciers.

The average ice thickness in Antarctica is about 1,700 meters, the total volume of glaciers in the Arctic is about 28 million cubic kilometers, which is only about one-tenth of that of Antarctic glaciers, and the average ice thickness in the Arctic Ocean is only 1,800 meters. Icebergs are one of the freshwater resources on Earth and one of the largest icebergs in the world. At present, some water-scarce countries in the world are studying how to transport Antarctic icebergs back to their home countries to solve the problem of local water scarcity and land drought, and these countries have carried out some research, including the United States, Canada, Indonesia, Australia, Spain, etc.