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A recent study published in Science Advances It points out that the soot generated by the burning in the Amazon is directly linked to the melting of the glaciers in the Antarctic Peninsula, located thousands of kilometers away. Research indicates that although global warming is the main cause of defrost, soot particles from burning are accelerating this process on the cold continent.
Since the 1970s, burning in the Amazon and other parts of South America have released up to 800,000 tons of soot per year in the atmosphere. These residues, driven by strong winds, can travel more than 6,000 kilometers and reach Antarctica in less than two weeks. The soot particles, invisible to the naked eye and about 100 times thinner than a hair, deposit the ice, warming it and speeding up the melting.
Pinguins on the Antarctic Peninsula, where the melting of glaciers is accelerated by soot particles from the burning in the Amazon/Photo: Reproduction/Getty Images
According to Márcio Cataldo, co -author of the study of the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), soot absorbs heat intensively due to its dark color, which causes ice to heating, forming small puddles of water. This process seems insignificant at first, but it is extremely significant considering the vastness of the region.
In addition to the burning, the research revealed that increased tourism in Antarctica also contributes to the intensification of this problem. Diesel ships, planes and generators used in the region release large amounts of soot, raising the levels of these particles, which have the same warming effect on glaciers. With the growth of polar tourism, which has already reached 123,000 visitors in season 2023-24, the concern with environmental impacts intensifies.
A glacier departing from the Larsen C ice platform in Antarctica, impacted by increasing soot emissions and global warming/Photo: Reproduction/Getty Images
Antarctica, which concentrates 90% of global ice, is experiencing higher temperatures in 2,000 years. Ice loss on antarctic platforms contributes to increasing sea level, a phenomenon with global repercussions. If glaciers like Thwaites, known as “the end of the world”, continue to disintegrate, the level of the sea could rise between 90 cm and 3 meters, which would affect millions of people in vulnerable coastal areas.
This research highlights the complexity of human impact on the environment and the interconnection between events in different parts of the world, with consequences that can be fast and irreversible for the global climate.
Source: BBC News BrazilMarcelo Lima Loreto, from New York (USA), 5 hours ago.
