Navegação na Antártica: mudanças climáticas e uma projeção para o futuro

Abstract

It is a challenge to say how Antarctica will be presented in the coming decades. With the environment changing, such changes are critical to scientists and even politicians, as issues such as pollution and high seas,contribute tothe development of populations. Studying the pastscientists can make a projection of how the future of planet Earth will be. Although there is a scarcity of stations and resources to the scientists, models are used to get a good feelingand perform projections for climate change in the Antarctic region, unique and important to the balance of the climate of other regions of the globe.To understand how planet Earth works we study it increasingly as a system,a collection of interdependent parts or spheressuch asthe lithosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, biosphere and atmosphere. Understanding how these spheres are connected and how they interact improves our ability to forecast how one or a combinationof them may changein responseto external forcings caused,for example,by the advent of volcanic eruptions,solar variability or human activities. To try to fill these gaps, several international bases in Antarctica seek information about thepast of the continent. Removing ice cores, scientists find clues about how the climate was decades ago. They call these blocks of "witnesses". One of the remotest parts of the Earth system is Antarctica, a continent larger than either Australia or Europe.We will not be able to fully understand how the Earth system works without comprehensive knowledge of the physical, biological, chemical and geological processes taking place within and above Antarctica and its surrounding Southern Ocean. That is a huge challenge given that these processes can take place among some of the remotest and harshest environments anywhere on the Earth’s surface.Currents and waves in the global ocean and the atmosphere ensure that Antarctica is affected by what happens elsewhere on the planet. Equally, ocean and atmospheric processes ensure that what happens in Antarctica may affect the rest of the world. It is the world’s freezer.In conclusion, even withmodern technologyavailable, yetit has beena delayin the developmentandmaintenanceforthese technologies to beusedfordata collectiononclimateAntarctic region. An international initiativeand cooperationbetween governmentsmakefeasiblethe implementation ofan observation system, so that important data come toscientists andsostudy process can bemore efficient.