The only place on Earth that hasn't been overrun by humans is showing signs of pollution due to the tourism industry burning fossil fuels nearby.
According to a new study published in the journal Nature Communications, more and more humans are spending time in the frozen continent. The darker the ice and snow, the more vulnerable it is to the Sun's warming rays.
The team looked at snow samples taken near tourist destinations around the Peninsula between 2016 and 2020 and found a lot of black carbon. They say that humans are to blame.
Black carbon content in snow surrounding research facilities and popular shore tourist-landing sites is much higher than background levels measured elsewhere in the continent, according to the researchers.
This dark layer causes the snow to melt and shrink on the Antarctic Peninsula.
One of the most rapidly warming regions on the planet isAntarctica, according to a snow and ice scientist at Western Washington University.
The researchers argue that we have to do a lot more to reverse the trend, despite some tourist ships using less-polluting diesel fuel.
According to the study, around 74,000 people visited the continent in the summer of 2020, a 32 percent increase from the year before.
The news comes after scientists found that the sea ice is at a record low. We don't know how the problem is affecting the planet yet.
The snow albedo effect is one of the largest uncertainties in regional and global climate modeling.
New data shows that Antarctica will likely set a new record this year.
The scientists say the sea ice is at a record low.
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