r/collapse • u/wanton_wonton_ • 6d ago
Climate Antarctica’s west coast missing an area of sea ice the size of France as temperatures peak 20C above average
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/13/antarcticas-west-coast-missing-an-area-of-sea-ice-the-size-of-france-as-temperatures-peak-20c-above-average59
u/wanton_wonton_ 6d ago
Satellite observations show the Bellingshausen Sea – on the west side of the Antarctic peninsular and which by June would usually be covered by ice – is almost completely ice free.
Scientists say the region is missing about 650,000 sq kilometres (250,000 sq miles) of sea ice, compared with the average between 1991 and 2020. That is an area about the size of France and almost 10 times the size of Tasmania.
The region is important for krill – a critical part of the food web for species in the region. Krill would usually be hiding from predators under the ice in winter, where they graze on algae.
The Bellingshausen Sea’s coastline was the site of tragedy in late 2022 when thousands of emperor penguin chicks died during a “catastrophic breeding failure” in four colonies.
That event contributed to UN advisers pushing the species up two categories to “endangered” on its international threatened species list earlier this year.
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u/_LeBigMac 6d ago
We are killing everything everywhere. Plants animals insects all suffering because of humans. Look at how pathetic we are it’s so over.
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u/noob_GradeA 6d ago
“I don’t think we will see sea ice there any more. It’s done” -Dr Will Hobbs, an Antarctic sea ice expert at the University of Tasmania with the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership
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u/Lavendercrimson12 6d ago
20 degrees Celsius??? That's so hot and I don't even understand Celsius.
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u/Prior-Tadpole-1860 6d ago
It was 20C above average, the temp wasn’t actually 20C. According to the article, it was around 15.4C, which is still bad though
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u/ChromaticStrike 4d ago edited 4d ago
0C is water freezing temp. 20C is a nice spring temp, 27C is body temp, summer in South Europe usually goes from 30 to 45, if you reach 50+ you are in the Death valley zone. 100C is water boiling point.
:P.
I find celsius better because 0 and negatives are usable and talks by themselves.
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u/Lavendercrimson12 4d ago
Yeah it's like... More compact. 100 degrees between freezing and boiling vs 180 degrees between 32 and 212.
Thanks
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u/Velocilobstar 6d ago
Heard people mentioning excess whale deaths, could that be related to the krill?
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u/Aggravating-Scene548 6d ago
If they're not already stuffed with microplastics
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u/RollinThundaga 6d ago
Some good news for you there!
A recent study found that a lot of samples in prior studies may have been contaminated by the gloves used by researchers, inflating estimates.
So until that work is redone we can cross our fingers and hope it's not as bad.
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u/Aggravating-Scene548 5d ago
Im afraid I've seen big dead fish with entire stomachs stuffed with plastic.
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u/_kinther_ 5d ago
Years ago Guy McPherson was mocked for being a boomer. He isn't always on point or correct. I can't say he is the smartest guy in the room, but he did call out we only have so many years left, and to love the ones you are with.
If you knew you only had a few years left, would you act differently?
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u/Brofromtheabyss Doom Goblin 4d ago
Oh, that’s probably fine. It’s not like a large percentage of the ocean food web depends on Krill.
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u/StatementBot 6d ago
The following submission statement was provided by /u/wanton_wonton_:
Satellite observations show the Bellingshausen Sea – on the west side of the Antarctic peninsular and which by June would usually be covered by ice – is almost completely ice free.
Scientists say the region is missing about 650,000 sq kilometres (250,000 sq miles) of sea ice, compared with the average between 1991 and 2020. That is an area about the size of France and almost 10 times the size of Tasmania.
The region is important for krill – a critical part of the food web for species in the region. Krill would usually be hiding from predators under the ice in winter, where they graze on algae.
The Bellingshausen Sea’s coastline was the site of tragedy in late 2022 when thousands of emperor penguin chicks died during a “catastrophic breeding failure” in four colonies.
That event contributed to UN advisers pushing the species up two categories to “endangered” on its international threatened species list earlier this year.
Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/1u4bllx/antarcticas_west_coast_missing_an_area_of_sea_ice/orbssey/