After completing the Melting Iceburgs experiment, it is very obvious that as the iceburgs melt there is the possibility of the oceans becoming too overloaded with water, causing rising waters on many shore areas. This can have a negative impact on many different aspects of our natural world.
One factor we must look at will be the temperature of our waters. Even though the ice is melting, it will be cooler than some of the water found in some oceans. As cooler water starts to fill the oceans, that will eventually move into other oceans. What impact will this have on our ecosystems found in different oceans? Will plants be able to survive a drop of 2-3 degrees in temperature? How will food chains and webs be affected? Also, will the melting occur so quickly that this will be an issue? Or because they are melting slowly will this not be a factor at all?
I did not consider the effects that the water temperature would have on surrounding oceans. Like you mentioned, if the icebergs melt quickly forcing the colder water into warmer oceans I can see this having a detrimental effect on ocean life. Great point!
ReplyDeleteGreat point Kaydee. Just imagine the cold water entering the gulf stream. Would the next ice age be eminent? I wonder how long it would take for these changes to occur in our climate. I also wonder how our present society could handle such a dramatic climate change as this?
ReplyDeleteGreat point. I didn't think about the temp of the oceans changing. There are not many organisms that would survive and drastic change in temp.
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts Kaydee. Your discussion of ocean temperatures made me think. There may be an even greater detrimental effect of warmer oceans. I remember a point that was made in “An Inconvenient Truth”. The film explained how cooler water temperatures near the arctic and warmer temperatures near the tropics power the ocean currents. These currents have a great deal to do with keeping the temperature stable of the Earth itself.
ReplyDeleteDan