Our days of ice skating or playing hockey on a frozen lake may be coming to an end. As climate change increases and the rise in temperature reduces the amount of ice around the world, new research finds that ice quality – which includes its ability to carry weight – is also affected. This can mean a huge loss of winter sports, as the required amount of snow and ice becomes less and less.
On thin ice
Global warming due to climate change caused sea ice to “reduce productivity, meaning more dangerous conditions for transportation (reducing the use of many icy roads) and recreation (increasing the risk of fatal drownings during the summer),” said a new study published in the journal. Nature Studies Earth & Environment. The reduced strength is due to the reduced quality of the ice rather than the density. “Ice quality is important because of the direct implications of carrying the burden of protecting people and also how much light will pass under the ice for life under the frozen lakes,” Sapna Sharma, a professor at the University of York who worked on the study, said. press release.
A cold his it has two types of snow: white snow and black snow. “Snowflakes are usually clear, like ice, and filled with a lot of air and small ice crystals, reducing their strength and stability,” said the press release. On the other hand, “dark snow is clear and hard with few air pockets and large ice crystals making it very solid.” The winter is warm they are “creating thin layers of black ice and sometimes a thick layer of white ice,” which can “correct tricky situations for athletes, hockey players, snowboarders, ice handlers and ice skaters.” People need about 10cm or 4 inches of snow to stand on safely. A delivery truck needs 100cm or 42 inches of black snow.
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Entertainment is not the only thing that will be sacrificed by weak snow. The lack of transport trucks can limit the community’s access to supplies, and marine life under the ice is also at risk. The increase in white ice reduces “the amount of nutrients available to fish and other aquatic life,” because ice can block light from the water, the release said. Without light, phytoplankton and other organisms cannot carry out photosynthesis.
Melting expectations
Many popular winter sports are at risk, including skiing and snowboarding. “Global warming is changing, and endangering” these sports, “perhaps permanently, and not just at the highest level,” he said. The Associated Press. “It appeals to people who just want to ski or snowboard for fun and those who make a living from places that offer such activities.” An increasing number of people have to rely on indoor facilities, and some resorts need artificial snow to keep business going.
Entertainment is our main concern. “I’m worried about the future of my sport, but, more than that, I’m just worried about our whole future and how much time we have before that,” Olympic Alpine skiing competitor Mikaela Shiffrin told the AP. In early 2024, the world “crossed a threshold in us at the previous level of ice closure of the entire Great Lakes,” said Bryan Mroczka, a physical scientist at the US. Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. “We haven’t seen ice levels this low in the middle of February on the lakes since our records began in 1973.”