Answer: Arctic ice may help to lead climate change or it may follow climate change.
It may help to lead climate change because of its albedo – how much radiation is reflected from its surface. Its extent will also shield the sun’s heat from the ocean to a greater or lesser extent. If the extent is small then the albedo will be small and more heat will be absorbed by the ocean. If the extent is large then the opposite is true.
However, it may be the case that Arctic ice has little direct impact on climate change, and may instead react to climate change.
Nobody knows.
One thing for sure is that the predictions that the Arctic would be
ice-free by 2013, erm 2014, erm 2020 (but when we say ‘free’ we don't actualy mean 'free', we mean ‘not very much’)
have so far not materialised. And in any case the Arctic has been navigable as recently as the 19th century.
Greenland ice is interesting. The ice there is melting… and what is under the receding ice? Farms. This backs up evidence that Vikings had farms in Greenland during the mediaeval warm period (MWP) (around 950AD). So Greenland was cold, it warmed enough for farming, then got cold again (all without SUVs) and is now getting warm again.
Nobody knows what caused the MWP nor what made it end and become cold.
The website skepticalscience.com is in fact a site that supports the theory of man-made climate change. Here is that site’s attempt to explain why the climate changes in Greenland were caused by natural forces, but that current changes are not. Note how many “coulds” “probablys” and “reconstructions” and other vague terms exist therein.
https://www.skepticalscience.com/greenland-used-to-be-green.htm
Keith Ougden
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