![]() For example, some amount of sea level rise is going to happen in the next few decades, no matter how quickly greenhouse gas emissions fall. HERSHER: You know, to be honest, some of these changes cannot be avoided. Rebecca, what does the future hold? I mean, is there any way at all to avoid some of these effects? MARTÍNEZ: So all this sounds really, really dire. Melting ice also means a lot of freshwater is pouring into the oceans where it can change the ocean currents in a way that harms entire ecosystems of animals. And it could mean more hot, dry weather in the Western U.S. And scientists are finding that heat seems to be influencing weather patterns that ripple all the way down to the lower 48. And without it, more sunlight is warming the ocean. And in the Arctic, it reflects a lot of sunlight. ![]() SOMMER: So ice is really bright white, right? It's kind of blinding. Like, sea ice in the Arctic can actually affect the weather we see in the U.S. SOMMER: You know, some of the other connections to ice are less obvious, maybe. For example, the melting ice in west Antarctica will disproportionately affect sea level rise in Texas. And so there are special relationships between specific places and specific ice that's melting. The ocean is not like a bathtub where, like, melting ice is the faucet, and the water rises uniformly everywhere. But here's something a lot of people don't know. And, obviously, melting ice contributes to sea level rise around the world. So that's one of the major threats from climate change. MARTÍNEZ: Rebecca, tell us about some of the unexpected connections between this melting ice and people's just everyday lives. So predicting exactly how quickly these massive ice sheets and glaciers will disappear as Earth is heating up - it's really hard but, you know, really important. The meltwater itself speeds up the whole process. SOMMER: And melting actually creates more melting. And in the case of ice, a big chunk can fall into the ocean. And then for no discernible reason, boom, it turns into a really big crack. So, you know, like, a little pebble hits your windshield. So one scientist who studies Antarctica explained it like this to me. You know, dust and algae and snow all affect how ice absorbs the heat from the sun. REBECCA HERSHER, BYLINE: You know, these are really, really massive areas, so they don't melt the way, like, an ice cube would, you know, gently liquefying in the sun. MARTÍNEZ: Rebecca, why is it so hard to figure that out? And researchers are trying to figure out just how much more that melt is going to accelerate. SOMMER: Greenland is losing about 280 billion tons of ice a year. Other parts just had big, rushing rivers of meltwater. You know, some of the ice was covered in these little pools of water, kind of look like Swiss cheese. SOMMER: And it really is like climbing a mountain. And I went to see some of it with NPR producer Ryan Kellman, and we hiked up Greenland's ice sheet. ![]() They're just really huge parts of the planet. And the reason for that is because these are vast amounts of ice we're talking about. Those are connections that travel a really long way. But ice is deeply connected to the rest of the world because it influences fundamental things like weather patterns and oceans. LAUREN SOMMER, BYLINE: Yeah, I mean, ice can feel really far away, right? It's at the very ends of the planet. So thousands of miles away - Lauren, that sounds like it is not believable, that it's not possible. And reporters Lauren Sommer and Rebecca Hersher are here with us now with more. All this week, NPR's Climate Desk is looking at those effects. And surprisingly, that's affecting people thousands of miles away. As the climate gets hotter, the world's ice sheets and glaciers are disappearing. MARTÍNEZ: That is the sound of summertime in Greenland, where ice is rapidly melting.
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