Icebergs melt, detection equipment helps environmental protection

On April 18, 2021, British Sky News reported a report that surprised almost everyone, A68a, once thought to be the world's largest iceberg, has melted and split into pieces. In fact, according to data provided by the National Glacier Center in the United States, as early as 2017, A68a had been stripped from the Antarctic Larsen Ice Shelf, and drifted 1,500 kilometers in the next three years, and continued to shrink in size. The iceberg itself is a physical oceanographic phenomenon. It was born in the South and North polar seas. It is the floating ice block after the polar ice cap breaks. Generally speaking, only the floating ice block that reaches a certain height can be called an iceberg ( The length is greater than 5 meters and the height above the water surface is greater than 1 meter). The original purpose of observing icebergs is to better ensure the safety of maritime navigation, but with the great changes in the environment and climate in recent years and the public's increasing attention to environmental protection and climate control, iceberg observation has also been given to the field of environmental detection. important functions. In fact, the drifting and melting of icebergs is a normal natural law, and this law has a positive impact on the ocean. However, in recent years, there has been a certain increase in the rate at which icebergs are being dissolved, and in the number of them, and this increase has made it difficult for relevant researchers not to link it to climate conditions such as global warming. Judging from the current situation, the rupture of polar ice shelves, the production and melting of a large number of icebergs are closely related to sea level rise. The negatives of relationships have outweighed the positives. In addition, the large number of icebergs appearing and melting also means that the area of ​​two-level glaciers is decreasing. Generally speaking, due to the small number of organisms in the poles, the ecological stability of the environment is not strong. Therefore, this poses a great threat to the survival of polar organisms and even the polar biological chain. Whether in terms of sea level rise or the threat of polar ecology, the melting of icebergs and the melting of glaciers are just an opportunity to warn us that we should address the issue of global warming. So are we really turning a blind eye to these phenomena? Naturally neither. In fact, since a few years ago, countries have implemented countermeasures against global warming and the accelerated melting of glaciers and snow-capped mountains. For example, there was a lot of uproar last year to cover the snow-capped mountains with quilts. But objectively speaking, these means are only temporary means and cannot fundamentally solve the problem. So how exactly should we protect those polar animals while avoiding melting glaciers and rising sea levels from submerging the land we live in? The key is to manage the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is simply an environmental problem caused by the production of greenhouse gases far exceeding the environment's own bearing capacity, and its production is closely related to human activities. Therefore, governance should also start from the detection of greenhouse gases and from human activities to reduce the generation of greenhouse gases and accelerate the collection and processing of greenhouse gases. Specifically, if you want to fully mitigate the greenhouse effect, you first need an all-around greenhouse gas detection method. Is there such a method now? The answer is yes. With the continuous development of satellite remote sensing technology, in addition to the conventional ground-based atmospheric detection network, artificial satellites are also a powerful tool for us to detect the distribution and concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the air. In terms of carbon dioxide recovery, in addition to the continuous development of related instruments and equipment, the development of new materials also provides ideas for the collection of carbon dioxide. In fact, as early as a few years ago, many countries around the world began to establish related Carbon dioxide recovery building, using new materials to collect carbon dioxide gas too. In addition, the development of new energy is also one of the keys to solving the problem. In fact, a large part of the reason why human activities produce a large amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases is because the energy we currently use produces a large amount of carbon dioxide, sulfide, and nitrate in the process of releasing energy. Of course, this problem has also been seeking solutions in recent years. The more famous one is the one that has been frequently mentioned recently.“carbon neutral”as well as“carbon peak”plan. In general, we are facing an environmental problem that requires time and technology to solve, but there is not much time left for us, so the development of technology needs to compete with the greenhouse effect.