Environment & Energy

OKIsItJustMe

(22,485 posts)

2. It's not so much that ice holds heat, as that it takes a lot of heat to melt it.

Sat Jul 11, 2026, 08:29 PM

Saturday

“Phase changes” (i.e. from solid to liquid or from liquid to gas) take a great deal of heat. The less ice there is to melt, the more heat there will be available to heat the ocean, in addition, sea water is nowhere near as reflective as snow-covered ice. So, much more sunlight will be absorbed by the ocean, heating it, rather than being bounced back into space.

https://earth.gsfc.nasa.gov/cryo/data/current-state-sea-ice-cover

The sea ice cover is one of the key components of the polar climate system. It has been a focus of attention in recent years, largely because of a strong decrease in the Arctic sea ice cover and modeling results that indicate that global warming is amplified in the Arctic on account of ice-albedo feedback. This results from the high reflectivity (albedo) of the sea ice compared to ice-free waters. A satellite-based data record starting in late 1978 shows that indeed rapid changes have been occurring in the Arctic, where the ice coverage has been declining at a substantial rate. …

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

2 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

IbogaProject Solly Mack

7 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Climate Scientists Aghast at How Bad Things Are Getting, and So Fast [View all] OKIsItJustMe Saturday OP

Ice holds a tremendous amout of heat IbogaProject Saturday #1

It's not so much that ice holds heat, as that it takes a lot of heat to melt it. OKIsItJustMe Saturday #2

Thank you IbogaProject Saturday #3

You're welcome OKIsItJustMe Saturday #4

"We could call them super-extremes or mega-extremes," JoseBalow Saturday #5

Oh... Daffy...? This is your queue OKIsItJustMe Saturday #6

8.3 billion (with a "b") people. Projections flvegan 16 hrs ago #7