Melting of polar ice caps and glaciers

• The increase in atmospheric temperature causes the polar ice caps and glaciers to melt
• The summer thickness of the snow at the poles is about half the depth it was in 1959 and mountain glaciers worldwide have decreased in size during the last century
• The melting ice causes rising sea levels and changes in ocean circulation (currents)
• The balance of marine ecosystems is distributed because polar ice caps melt and dilute the sea water
• Landscapes in polar regions are changing, habitats of animal species are changing and those that cannot adapt with become extinct