Increasing fires in the Southern Hemisphere and more ships sailing in Antarctica are causing increasing melting of the Antarctic ice.
According to the research team led by lead author Newton Magalhães from the University of Rio de Janeiro, previous simulations have already shown that fires in South America, for example, have a similar influence.
Black carbon particles from fires – ships also emit similar particles – reached Antarctica from there. When soot settles on the ice, it absorbs more sunlight, causing the ice to melt faster.
According to the study, on the eastern side of the peninsula, the number of so-called melt days, or the days when the Antarctic ice melts, has increased.
The time of the highest soot concentration has also shifted. Before 2004, this happened in September or October, parallel to the fire season in South America.
The peak is now from November to February, which coincides with the tourist periods and fire season in Australia. It’s summer in Antarctica. Rising temperatures and more sunlight, in combination with the soot, will cause even greater ice melt, according to experts.
Source: Krone
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