Increase in Sea Ice in Antarctica Linked to Hole in Ozone Layer, Report Finds

The increase in sea ice around Antarctica over the last 30 years, a trend that stands in marked contrast to the thawing of sea ice in the Arctic, is the result of the hole in the ozone layer, according to a new study. But that trend is only temporary, scientists with the British Antarctic Survey and NASA concluded. Damage caused by man-made chemicals to the ozone layer, which protects Earth from ultraviolet rays, has altered weather patterns near Antarctica, they noted, leading to increasing winds off the shore that have cooled the surrounding seas and promoted more ice. Sea ice around Antarctica has expanded at a rate of about 38,610 square miles each decade since the 1970s and now covers about 11.8 million square miles in the winter. In the Arctic, meanwhile, sea ice in 2007 dwindled to the smallest area since satellites began tracking in the 1970s. “Although the ozone hole is in many ways holding back the effects of greenhouse gas increases on the Antarctic, this will not last,” said John Turner, the report’s lead author, who noted the ozone layer is expected to recover by the end of the 21st century.