{"id":18170,"date":"2021-12-14T09:53:04","date_gmt":"2021-12-14T08:53:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonpote.com\/antarctica-an-inevitable-climate-tipping-point\/"},"modified":"2022-06-28T20:47:30","modified_gmt":"2022-06-28T18:47:30","slug":"antarctica-an-inevitable-climate-tipping-point","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonpote.com\/en\/antarctica-an-inevitable-climate-tipping-point\/","title":{"rendered":"Antarctica : an inevitable climate tipping point?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For the last article in our series with the CNRS<\/a>, we are going to Antarctica, more commonly known as “the white continent<\/em>” or “the 6th continent<\/em>“.<\/p>\n\n

Antarctica is fascinating in every way. Firstly, few people will have the chance to go. Indeed, unless you work for science or are a wealthy tourist who likes to walk around in a -30\u00b0C weather, there is very little chance of finding a selfie of you on the Pine Island glacier. But why should we be interested in what is happening 15,000km away from metropolitan France?<\/p>\n\n

The answer is similar to the one we could have given for each article so far. Quite simply: if we don’t care about Antarctica, Antarctica will care about us<\/em>. Strange as it may seem, Antarctica does have one thing in common with the Amazon: they are both subject to a possible climate tipping point. In the case of Antarctica, this point of no return could have global consequences for hundreds of millions of people, including in France<\/strong>!<\/p>\n\n

In this article we will (try to) answer several questions: what are the consequences of the loss of mass of the Antarctica glacier ? Will there be one or more tipping points? Can we still avoid the worst?<\/p>\n\n

To answer this question, we received the help of Catherine Ritz, CNRS research director at the Institut des G\u00e9osciences de l’Environnement (IGE).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Antarctica, the only continent (almost) spared by man<\/h2>\n\n

Officially discovered in the 19th century, Antarctica has not ceased to attract interest and excite the imagination. Probably, among other things, because this continent is unknown to most people. It is the driest, coldest and windiest continent in the world<\/strong>. The average temperature is -20\u00b0C during the southern summer, and about -60\u00b0C the rest of the year. In Antarctica, if you lose a glove, you lose a hand<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n

Of course, speaking on average for a continent like Antarctica is not necessarily representative of the different climates in each region. The climate is very different between the Antarctic Peninsula, where the record heat was recorded in the summer of 2021 at 18.3\u00b0C<\/a>… and the Vostok station, almost at the top of the dome, with 3.7 km of ice under its foundations, which recorded a nice -89\u00b0C<\/a> in 1983.<\/p>\n\n

\"Antarctica
Antarctica Map<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Located around the South Pole, it is surrounded by the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans (above 60\u00b0 South, it is called the Southern Ocean) and the Ross, Amundsen, Bellingshausen and Weddell Seas. East Antarctica is accessed via Australia, New Zealand or South Africa and West Antarctica via the tip of South America, where most of the tourist flow is concentrated.<\/p>\n\n

Orders of magnitude<\/h2>\n\n

Only a few orders of magnitude can give an idea of the immensity and exceptional nature of Antarctica:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n