France has committed to spending €1 billion ($1.07 billion or £880 million) in polar research by 2030.&nbsp;

The step, as per reports, is in response to growing scientific concern over the accelerating melting of the world's ice caps and glaciers.

<h2>Macron's speech</h2>

Speaking at a summit in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron emphasised the urgent need for action, stating, "We are not talking about a threat for tomorrow, but one that is already present and accelerating. We are talking about a transformation of the cryosphere [the Earth's ice] that already threatens millions and will threaten billions of the planet's inhabitants with multiple direct and indirect consequences."

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/global-fossil-fuel-production-plans-threaten-15-degree-celsius-warming-threshold-un-report-656656">Global fossil fuel production plans threaten 1.5 degree Celsius warming threshold: UN report</a>

As per The Guardian, a new polar science vessel will lead the initiative. France is urging a moratorium on seabed exploitation in polar regions, with several countries, including the UK, Canada, Brazil, and 19 others, signing up.

John Kerry, the US special presidential envoy for climate, who did not attend the Paris summit, sent a video message. In it, he warned: "We must understand the tipping points, the points which there is no reclaiming, there is no coming back."

<h2>Polar temperatures: A cause for concern</h2>

Rising temperatures at both poles, resulting in heatwaves, have raised concerns among scientists.&nbsp;

As one scientist put it, it is "gobsmackingly bananas," this year, marked as the hottest on record — probably the hottest in 100,000 years — has witnessed ocean temperatures well above normal levels.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/mount-st-helens-more-than-400-earthquakes-recorded-since-mid-july-it-is-a-threat-656931">Mount St Helens: More than 400 earthquakes recorded since mid-July. It is a threat?</a>

The Earth's ice caps play a crucial role in reflecting sunlight back into space, known as the "albedo effect," and their melting could trigger rapid climate change by reducing this reflection.

"I know that climate change is seen as a soft issue [compared with wars and national security]… but we can’t negotiate with the melting point of ice," warned Pam Pearson, founder and director of the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative.

(With inputs from agencies)

France has committed to spending €1 billion ($1.07 billion or £880 million) in polar research by 2030. The step, as per reports, is in response to growing scientific concern over the accelerating melting of the world's ice caps and glaciers.

France has committed to spending €1 billion ($1.07 billion or £880 million) in polar research by 2030. The step, as per reports, is in response to growing scientific concern over the accelerating melting of the world's ice caps and glaciers. Macron's speech Speaking at a summit in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron emphasised the urgent need for action, stating, "We are not talking about a threat for tomorrow, but one that is already present and accelerating. We are talking about a transformation of the cryosphere [the Earth's ice] that already threatens millions and will threaten billions of the planet's inhabitants with multiple direct and indirect consequences." Also read | Global fossil fuel production plans threaten 1.5 degree Celsius warming threshold: UN report As per The Guardian, a new polar science vessel will lead the initiative. France is urging a moratorium on seabed exploitation in polar regions, with several countries, including the UK, Canada, Brazil, and 19 others, signing up. John Kerry, the US special presidential envoy for climate, who did not attend the Paris summit, sent a video message. In it, he warned: "We must understand the tipping points, the points which there is no reclaiming, there is no coming back." Polar temperatures: A cause for concern Rising temperatures at both poles, resulting in heatwaves, have raised concerns among scientists. As one scientist put it, it is "gobsmackingly bananas," this year, marked as the hottest on record — probably the hottest in 100,000 years — has witnessed ocean temperatures well above normal levels. Also read | Mount St Helens: More than 400 earthquakes recorded since mid-July. It is a threat? The Earth's ice caps play a crucial role in reflecting sunlight back into space, known as the "albedo effect," and their melting could trigger rapid climate change by reducing this reflection. "I know that climate change is seen as a soft issue [compared with wars and national security]… but we can’t negotiate with the melting point of ice," warned Pam Pearson, founder and director of the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative. (With inputs from agencies)

France commits a billion Euros to polar research amid ice caps, glaciers' melting concerns

At this point, everyone (except a few naysayers) acknowledge&nbsp;that climate change is a reality and we are all facing a very real danger. The Earth is warming up, the ice caps are melting, and despite the fact that organisations and national governments around the world have set lofty goals, we are mostly at a loss for what can be done to speedily reverse the situation.

Now, scientists have proposed an ambitious and some might say downright "bizarre" plan to reverse the ice loss: they want to refreeze the north and south poles.

A recent study carried out by Wake Smith of Yale University and&nbsp;published in Environmental Research Communications proposes that a high-flying aircraft will spray small aerosol particles into the atmosphere at latitudes of 60 degrees north and south.

Watch |&nbsp;WION Fineprint | Is your adorable puppy as bad for the planet as a gas-guzzling SUV?

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/wion-fineprint-is-your-adorable-puppy-as-bad-for-the-planet-as-a-gas-guzzling-suv-516895/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

These aerosols would gradually float poleward if dispersed at a height of 43,000 feet&nbsp;significantly shading the ground below, claims the study.&nbsp;They say that the additional shade would allow the melting poles to refreeze, reducing the problems of melting glacier ice and rising sea levels.

According to the scientists, the method would "abate climate change by deflecting back into space a small fraction of the incoming solar radiation."

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/robots-are-here-for-good-or-bad-but-will-they-take-over-the-world-worlds-most-advanced-humanoid-says-no-515864" hreflang="en">Robots are here 'for good, or bad,' but will they take over the world? World's most advanced humanoid says no</a>

However, it does come at a hefty cost. The method is called stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) and as per the Daily Mail report would cost a whopping $11 billion yearly.

Although they admitted that the idea is controversial, the researchers asserted that the idea is "feasible" and that $11 billion a year is "extraordinarily cheap" in comparison to other climate solutions like carbon capture.

The proposal does have some drawbacks: The planes would emit their own emissions that would contribute to global warming.&nbsp;Additionally, the aerosol would contain sulphur dioxide, which in large doses can harm the lungs and airways by corroding them and causing nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/infographic-climate-crisis-has-driven-world-on-brink-of-five-disastrous-tipping-points-514540" hreflang="en">Infographic: Climate crisis has driven world on brink of five ‘disastrous’ tipping points</a>

But the researchers contend that less than one per cent of the global population lives in the target areas.&nbsp;

However, Smith also admitted that the plan would only serve as a sort of Earth-salvaging bandage rather than addressing the fundamental causes of climate change.

"It's aspirin, not penicillin. It's not a substitute for decarbonisation," he said.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" loading="”lazy”" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe>

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us <a href="https://www.wionews.com/content-contribution-registration-form">here</a>.

At this point, everyone (except a few naysayers) acknowledge that climate change is a reality and we are all facing a very real danger. The Earth is warming up, the ice caps are melting, and despite the fact that organisations and national governments around the world have set lofty goals, we are mostly at a loss for what can be done to speedily reverse the situation.

At this point, everyone (except a few naysayers) acknowledge that climate change is a reality and we are all facing a very real danger. The Earth is warming up, the ice caps are melting, and despite the fact that organisations and national governments around the world have set lofty goals, we are mostly at a loss for what can be done to speedily reverse the situation. Now, scientists have proposed an ambitious and some might say downright "bizarre" plan to reverse the ice loss: they want to refreeze the north and south poles. A recent study carried out by Wake Smith of Yale University and published in Environmental Research Communications proposes that a high-flying aircraft will spray small aerosol particles into the atmosphere at latitudes of 60 degrees north and south. Watch | WION Fineprint | Is your adorable puppy as bad for the planet as a gas-guzzling SUV? These aerosols would gradually float poleward if dispersed at a height of 43,000 feet significantly shading the ground below, claims the study. They say that the additional shade would allow the melting poles to refreeze, reducing the problems of melting glacier ice and rising sea levels. According to the scientists, the method would "abate climate change by deflecting back into space a small fraction of the incoming solar radiation." Also read | Robots are here 'for good, or bad,' but will they take over the world? World's most advanced humanoid says no However, it does come at a hefty cost. The method is called stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) and as per the Daily Mail report would cost a whopping $11 billion yearly. Although they admitted that the idea is controversial, the researchers asserted that the idea is "feasible" and that $11 billion a year is "extraordinarily cheap" in comparison to other climate solutions like carbon capture. The proposal does have some drawbacks: The planes would emit their own emissions that would contribute to global warming. Additionally, the aerosol would contain sulphur dioxide, which in large doses can harm the lungs and airways by corroding them and causing nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain. Also read | Infographic: Climate crisis has driven world on brink of five ‘disastrous’ tipping points But the researchers contend that less than one per cent of the global population lives in the target areas. However, Smith also admitted that the plan would only serve as a sort of Earth-salvaging bandage rather than addressing the fundamental causes of climate change. "It's aspirin, not penicillin. It's not a substitute for decarbonisation," he said. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Scientists suggest a stop-gap solution for 'refreezing' melting ice; will cost whopping $11 billion yearly

The last fully intact ice shelf in the Canadian Arctic has collapsed, losing more than 40% of its area in just two days at the end of July, researchers said.&nbsp;

The Milne Ice Shelf is at the fringe of Ellesmere Island, in the sparsely populated northern Canadian territory of Nunavut.

“Above normal air temperatures, offshore winds and open water in front of the ice shelf are all part of the recipe for ice shelf break up,” the Canadian Ice Service said on Twitter when it announced the loss on Sunday. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science-tech/nearly-half-of-worlds-beaches-disappearing-due-to-climate-change-study-283976">Also Read:&nbsp;Nearly half of world's beaches disappearing due to climate change</a>

“Entire cities are that size. These are big pieces of ice,” said Luke Copland, a glaciologist at the University of Ottawa who was part of the research team studying the Milne Ice Shelf.

The shelf’s area shrank by about 80 square kilometers. By comparison, the island of Manhattan in New York covers roughly 60 square kilometers.

“This was the largest remaining intact ice shelf, and it’s disintegrated, basically,” Copland said.&nbsp;

The Arctic has been warming at twice the global rate for the last 30 years, due to a process known as Arctic amplification. But this year, temperatures in the polar region have been intense. The polar sea ice hit its lowest extent for July in 40 years. Record heat and wildfires have scorched Siberian Russia.

Summer in the Canadian Arctic this year in particular has been 5 degrees Celsius above the 30-year average, Copland said.

That has threatened smaller ice caps, which can melt quickly because they do not have the bulk that larger glaciers have to stay cold. As a glacier disappears, more bedrock is exposed, which then heats up and accelerates the melting process.

“The very small ones, we’re losing them dramatically,” he said, citing researchers’ reviews of satellite imagery. “You feel like you’re on a sinking island chasing these features, and these are large features. It’s not as if it’s a little tiny patch of ice you find in your garden.”&nbsp;

The ice shelf collapse on Ellesmere Island also meant the loss of the northern hemisphere’s last known epishelf lake, a geographic feature in which a body of freshwater is dammed by the ice shelf and floats atop ocean water.

A research camp, including instruments for measuring water flow through the ice shelf, was lost when the shelf collapsed. “It is lucky we were not on the ice shelf when this happened,” said researcher Derek Mueller of Carleton University in Ottawa, in an Aug. 2 blog post.

Ellesmere also lost its two St. Patrick Bay ice caps this summer.

“We saw them going, like someone with terminal cancer. It was only a matter of time,” said Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado.

Serreze and other NSIDC scientists had published a 2017 study predicting the ice caps were likely to disappear within five years. The ice caps were believed to have formed several centuries ago.

The vanishing was confirmed last month, when NASA satellite shots of the region revealed a complete lack of snow and ice, said Serreze, who studied the caps as a graduate student on his first trip to the Arctic years ago. At the time, he said, the caps had seemed like immovable parts of the geography.&nbsp;

“When I was there in the 1980s I knew every square inch of those ice caps,” he said. “You have the memories. It’s like your first girlfriend.”

Meanwhile, another two ice caps on Ellesmere - called Murray and Simmons - are also diminishing and are likely to disappear within 10 years, Serreze said.

The last fully intact ice shelf in the Canadian Arctic has collapsed, losing more than 40% of its area in just two days at the end of July, researchers said. The Milne Ice Shelf is at the fringe of Ellesmere Island, in the sparsely populated northern Canadian territory of Nunavut.

The last fully intact ice shelf in the Canadian Arctic has collapsed, losing more than 40% of its area in just two days at the end of July, researchers said. The Milne Ice Shelf is at the fringe of Ellesmere Island, in the sparsely populated northern Canadian territory of Nunavut. “Above normal air temperatures, offshore winds and open water in front of the ice shelf are all part of the recipe for ice shelf break up,” the Canadian Ice Service said on Twitter when it announced the loss on Sunday. Also Read: Nearly half of world's beaches disappearing due to climate change “Entire cities are that size. These are big pieces of ice,” said Luke Copland, a glaciologist at the University of Ottawa who was part of the research team studying the Milne Ice Shelf. The shelf’s area shrank by about 80 square kilometers. By comparison, the island of Manhattan in New York covers roughly 60 square kilometers. “This was the largest remaining intact ice shelf, and it’s disintegrated, basically,” Copland said. The Arctic has been warming at twice the global rate for the last 30 years, due to a process known as Arctic amplification. But this year, temperatures in the polar region have been intense. The polar sea ice hit its lowest extent for July in 40 years. Record heat and wildfires have scorched Siberian Russia. Summer in the Canadian Arctic this year in particular has been 5 degrees Celsius above the 30-year average, Copland said. That has threatened smaller ice caps, which can melt quickly because they do not have the bulk that larger glaciers have to stay cold. As a glacier disappears, more bedrock is exposed, which then heats up and accelerates the melting process. “The very small ones, we’re losing them dramatically,” he said, citing researchers’ reviews of satellite imagery. “You feel like you’re on a sinking island chasing these features, and these are large features. It’s not as if it’s a little tiny patch of ice you find in your garden.” The ice shelf collapse on Ellesmere Island also meant the loss of the northern hemisphere’s last known epishelf lake, a geographic feature in which a body of freshwater is dammed by the ice shelf and floats atop ocean water. A research camp, including instruments for measuring water flow through the ice shelf, was lost when the shelf collapsed. “It is lucky we were not on the ice shelf when this happened,” said researcher Derek Mueller of Carleton University in Ottawa, in an Aug. 2 blog post. Ellesmere also lost its two St. Patrick Bay ice caps this summer. “We saw them going, like someone with terminal cancer. It was only a matter of time,” said Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado. Serreze and other NSIDC scientists had published a 2017 study predicting the ice caps were likely to disappear within five years. The ice caps were believed to have formed several centuries ago. The vanishing was confirmed last month, when NASA satellite shots of the region revealed a complete lack of snow and ice, said Serreze, who studied the caps as a graduate student on his first trip to the Arctic years ago. At the time, he said, the caps had seemed like immovable parts of the geography. “When I was there in the 1980s I knew every square inch of those ice caps,” he said. “You have the memories. It’s like your first girlfriend.” Meanwhile, another two ice caps on Ellesmere - called Murray and Simmons - are also diminishing and are likely to disappear within 10 years, Serreze said.

Record Arctic heat continues, Canada’s last intact ice shelf collapses into the sea

melting-ice-caps

Melting Ice Caps, News on Melting Ice Caps, stories on Melting Ice Caps, articles on Melting Ice Caps, Melting Ice Caps stories at Wion, Melting Ice Caps news, Melting Ice Caps latest news

melting ice-caps

France commits a billion Euros to polar research amid ice caps, glaciers' melting concerns

Scientists suggest a stop-gap solution for 'refreezing' melting ice; will cost whopping $11 billion yearly

Record Arctic heat continues, Canada’s last intact ice shelf collapses into the sea