If Antarctica Melts, the Korean Peninsula Will Get Warmer

If Antarctic Glaciers Melt
First Identification of East Asia Warming

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] A study has revealed that melting Antarctic glaciers contribute to warming in East Asia. It is known that the meltwater from glaciers lowers the sea surface temperature of the Antarctic Ocean and aids in the formation of sea ice, temporarily slowing global warming. However, the study shows that in East Asia, including South Korea, this process can actually raise temperatures.

The Korea Polar Research Institute announced on the 16th that it has identified for the first time in the world the mechanism by which melting Antarctic glaciers warm East Asia. The related research findings were recently published in the American scientific journal Journal of Geophysical Research.

When Antarctica Melts, the Korean Peninsula Gets Warmer

The research team from the institute, led by Professor Jongseong Kook of POSTECH, along with the international collaborative team including Germany's GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, predicted that meltwater from Antarctic glaciers raises the temperature in East Asia, over 17,000 km away, by more than 0.2℃. They then verified this prediction through scenarios and numerical modeling techniques reflecting the current rapid ice melt in Antarctica due to global warming.

The analysis showed that the cold water entering from the Antarctic Ocean pushed the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), located near the equator, northward. This phenomenon occurred as increased sea ice reflected more sunlight back into space, lowering temperatures in the Southern Hemisphere. The northward shift of the ITCZ caused a strong high-pressure system in the western North Pacific, allowing warm air to flow into East Asia and thereby promoting warming. The ITCZ is the region near the equator where the trade winds of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres converge and shifts north and south seasonally.

However, the research team expects this East Asian warming phenomenon to become pronounced 22 to 71 years after the Antarctic meltwater enters. Meanwhile, the global average temperature is predicted to decrease by more than 0.2 degrees during the same period, highlighting the relative regional warming in East Asia.

Antarctic Climate Change Impacts the Korean Peninsula

Antarctic glaciers have been releasing an average of 155 billion tons of ice into the ocean annually over the past decade, raising sea levels. However, there have been few studies investigating the impact on Northern Hemisphere climates like this one.

Senior Researcher Kyung Jin of the Korea Polar Research Institute said, "Although Antarctica and East Asia are far apart, it has been revealed that they can closely influence each other through the tropical region as a mediator. We will develop detailed scenarios of the future Earth and Korean Peninsula as Antarctica melts, to be used in climate change response efforts."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.