Part 2: Threats to the Polar Ecosystem
A polar ecosystem consists of organisms living in environments or regions such as tundra and barren. The polar regions are found in high latitudes in the north and south poles where the temperatures are low (below 10 °C). The region on the northern pole of the earth is identified as the arctic and includes the Arctic Ocean. The region on the southern pole of the planet is the Antarctic. Despite the low temperatures associated with these regions, they are inhabited by different animal species, scientists as well as plants. Regarding the Arctic and Antarctic ecosystem, some threats face the species residing in these areas. In this case, there are current threats and future threats, for instance, resource exploitation, pollution, oil and gas development, and climate change (Clarke et al., 2008, p. 322). The interaction among these factors threatens the survival of the Arctic and Antarctic ecosystems, as explored in this paper.
Identification of Current and Future Threats
Climate Change
The impact created by climate change across the world is bound to have a substantive effect on the polar marine ecosystem, especially in the future. According to Clarke and Harris (2003), the most significant concern for the polar ecosystem is the ecological implications of climate change. The threat is primarily on sea ice extent, which is a critical component of the polar marine ecosystem (Clarke and Harris, 2003).
Hagen et al. (n. d, p. 814) and Winkelmann et al. (2015) indicate that in the future, climatic changes will have a direct impact on the great ice sheets, ice caps, as well as glaciers of the polar regions. There is a high likelihood that increasing temperature over the continent, as well as changing storm tracks will cause increased precipitation and thickening of the ice sheets. However, the level of confidence in the possibility that the West Antarctic ice sheet will retreat dramatically in the coming centuries is still low. The determinants of the precipitation change and other hydrological components are the changes in weather systems and their tracks (Trenberth 2018; McBride et al.., 2014, p. 1935).
Pollution
Pollution threatens the survival of the polar ecosystem. The major source of this pollution is increased human activities, in either the polar regions or other parts of the world. For instance, the arctic has industries such as fisheries, oil, gas, and mineral extraction. These industries contribute primarily to air and water pollution, for instance, marine trash and plastic. Marine trash encompasses all manufactured products that end up in the seas and oceans in the arctic and Antarctic. Littering, storm winds, as well as poor waste management from the scientists residing in the region, contribute to the accumulation of the debris. Common types of marine debris are bottles, food wrappers, and fishing gear. Particularly, plastic waste is a problematic pollutant in the polar ecosystems since it is so long-lasting. As a result, this trash poses dangers to marine species. For instance, fish become tangled and injured in the debris.
Besides, the release of chemicals and untreated water from industries into oceans as well as fuel leaking from ships contributes to the death of aquatic organisms. Marine life in the arctic regions is sustained mostly by the fish species such as capelin and polar cod. Seabirds, whales, and seals feed on these fish, and their death due to water pollution could disrupt the food chain.
Natural Resource Exploitation
Another threat in the polar ecosystem is natural resource exploitation. More importantly, this is a future threat in the Antarctic and the Arctic region. Energy companies and governments are aware of the presence of the melting ice in the polar region. As such, it is becoming more and more likely that Antarctica will eventually become warmer enough hence being exploited (Clarke et al., 2008, p. 322). The Antarctic may be exploited for things such as minerals, and the places like the Arctic will be more enough for oil-drilling on a scale that seems to be massive (Rogers et al., 2020, p. 108). As a result, this will pose an environmental disaster to the arctic and Antarctic regions. In this case, mining, as well as oil drilling, has proven to be everywhere in the world, for instance, from Africa to Europe, and from the Amazon to the Appalachian mountains among others (Hassan, 2013, p. 123: Mustafa, 2016, p. 61). In the future, the inevitable large oil spills occurring in the Arctic and Antarctic region will kill countless marine, land as well as avian creatures.
Oil and Gas Exploration
The Arctic and Antarctic ecosystems are also threatened by the exploration of oil and gas, which involves offshore drilling. The activities lead to increased release of fossil oil into the water. Besides, the combustion of fossil fuel leads to the formation of acid rainfall that acidifies water in the oceans. Increased ocean acidification and reduced oxygen levels in water due to spilled oil or turbidity cause the death of marine organisms.
Comparing and Critically Assessing the Relative Importance and Severity of the Threats
The significant impact of the identified threats will be a disruption in the food chain, which could hinder the survival of the polar ecosystem. The freezing temperatures in the polar regions, especially the Arctic, have served as a major protection for the polar ecosystem with the live marine species found in the area being spared from external threats. The low temperatures help to maintain a balanced food chain in the polar ecosystem. However, climate change effects mean that the arctic region will record warmer temperatures in the future. According to De Rivera et al. (2007), warmer climates in the arctic and sub-arctic waters could lead to marine invasive species such as crabs moving to these waters. De Rivera et al. (2007) state that the changes in water temperature levels do not have to be as dramatic with just a small increase in water temperatures enough to promote the migration of these marine invasive species. Once such species move to the arctic regions, it will result in changes to the polar ecosystem with most of the species that have existed in isolation with the rest of the polar ecosystem now under significant threat from the invasive marine species. The result will be a reduction in the original polar marine species and significantly alter the state of the polar ecosystem in the arctic.
The rising temperature affects the weather, terrain, and wildlife. As changes in temperatures occur, many species migrate further to the northern part of the region where there are cool temperatures. Additionally, the clean air in the Antarctica, water, soil, as well as ice is of utmost importance to science for understanding how the environment is changing naturally. Because of this, the region faces the incessant influx of tourists. The tourists visit the region without appropriate kitting as well as behaviors, including uncontrolled disposals of items that are used, for example, glasses, food, woods, and chemicals (Abubakar, 2016, p. 8). The items disposed of are directed to the water sources either directly by the visitors or through natural activities such as floods. Nevertheless, in these poles, the species such as the penguins have been threatened; therefore, their populations have drastically reduced. According to many scientists, they reveal that the population of polar bears will be lower in the future.
Although many scientists posit that human activity is directly responsible for causing climate change, the primary cause is the burning of fossil fuels, which results in the accumulation of greenhouse gases. Regarding this, oil burning, coal burning as well as a gas burning always traps heat in the atmosphere; hence, increasing temperatures, therefore, it causes glaciers and ice sheets to melt. On the other hand, drilling of fossil fuels is a significant contributor to the climatic change (Koyama, 2017, p. 80: Lincoln, 2005, p. 622). Through this process, methane gas is emitted, which eventually locks in heat more effectively than carbon dioxide. Nevertheless, the glacial melt is essential since the ice melt exposes the earth beneath. More importantly, the glaciers absorb approximately 20 % of the heat from the sun and reflect the remaining heat. However, if the earth is exposed, the glacier reflects less heat, trapping more warmth in the atmosphere. In nature, carbon IV oxide is exchanged between the atmosphere, plants animals through photosynthesis, respiration, as well as decomposition. A small amount of carbon IV oxide is also emitted in volcanic eruptions. Therefore, this is balanced by an equivalent amount that is removed by chemical weathering of rocks (Cicerone, & Nurse, n. d, p. 6).
In the Arctic, air pollution can have adverse effects on climate, ecosystems, and health. The pollutants mostly originate from mid-latitude anthropogenic emission regions in Asia, Europe, and North America (Hassan, 2013, p. 123: Mustafa, 2016, p. 61). Besides, warming in the Arctic, combined with favorable economic conditions, may lead to further industrial development in the Arctic. For instance, it includes increasing possibilities for transport through the northern sea routes, resource extraction, and associated infrastructure developments as well as urbanization (Law et al., 2017. p. 453). For these reasons, human beings must do their part to help in reducing the causes as well as the effect of pollution.
Besides, the Arctic is under a great threat from a multitude of environmental changes induced by human activities (Leggett, 2018, p. 6). Climatic changes, as a result of human activities, will cause the single greatest impact in the Arctic and Antarctic regions in the coming years (Anisimov et al. 2014, p. 1575). For instance, a global change in temperature of about one degree translates to a threefold increase in temperature in the arctic as well as the Antarctic region. This indicates that without cuts in the emissions of the carbon IV oxide, the Barents Sea will be free from ice in the many years that are approaching. For this reason, there have been associated changes in sea-ice cover, water column property, and processes that include primary sedimentation as well as coupling with the bottom layer (Anisimov et al, 2007, p. 659). As a result, this habitat loss will probably be fatal for the species residing and surviving in the region, for example, the polar bear and other organisms. To maintain the structure of the ecosystem as well as the function of the Arctic and Antarctic, it will be necessary to prevent further climatic effects, making the arctic less vulnerable to the coming effects of climate change. Vulnerability is the degree to which a system is susceptible to, or unable to cope with, adverse effects of stress; whereas adaptive capacity, or resilience, is an ability to adjust to stress, to realize opportunities, or to cope with consequences (Anisimov et al. 2007, p. 658). This is done through obtaining the buffering of the capacity of the Arctic ecosystem by decreasing the synergetic effects of human threats in the region. On the other hand, climate change prevention can only be reached through global cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
Conclusion
The polar regions, the arctic on the northern part and the Antarctic on the southern region, experience low temperatures, which pose a significant effect on marine life. These effects include climate changes, pollution, oil and gas exploration as well as natural resource exploitation. as such, the climatic changes are likely to represent the single greatest long term threat to the two polar marine ecosystems. The most anticipated future changes in the Arctic are likely to occur in the thickness and the extent of sea ice. Regarding the Antarctic, the current model predicts a reduction in the sea ice extent, albeit the reliability of these estimates is low. Nevertheless, the changes in the sea ice are always driven by the changes in the ocean-atmosphere system; although the alterations in the sea ice patterns influence the system through the feedback system.
More localized pressures on Arctic marine ecosystems are largely arising from pollution by heavy metals, plastics, radioactivity, and chemicals from the nearby industries. Perhaps the greatest concern for the future state of the two polar marine systems must be the potential for cumulative impacts from multiple sources, combining the global pressures in the form of climatic as well as ozone changes with local pressures in the form of pollution and unsustainable exploitation of living resources.