how glaciers are weakened by global warming

Reveal the little-known riches of the ocean, raise awareness among as many people as possible about its role, alert people to the urgency of preserving it… Such is the ambition of the special evening that France 2 broadcasts on Tuesday November 28 from 9:10 p.m. Presented by Léa Salamé and Hugo Clément, the show “The super-powers of the ocean” evokes the underestimated issues of saving the oceans. Various reports reveal its multiple benefits, the dangers that await these seas, which are essential to human survival, and the danger they represent for many populations.

The global ocean covers more than 70% of the Earth’s surface and plays a major role in regulating the Earth’s climate and temperature by absorbing 90% of excess heat. “Blue lung of the planet”, it has a crucial function in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. While 2023 is already the hottest year on record, the oceans and the biodiversity they support are bearing the brunt of the consequences of global warming due to human activities.

This rise in global temperatures is causing changes in ocean chemistry and threatens many species of marine animals that cannot cope with warmer waters. Added to this is the alarming rise in sea levels which is endangering many coastal towns.

Glaciers closely linked to the oceans

Preserving glaciers has also become essential as their destiny is so closely linked to that of the oceans. In one of the reports broadcast in the special program, Laury Thilleman goes to meet the glaciologist Heïdi Sevestre, who works for the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program in the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. The scientist is alarmed by their increasingly rapid melting from year to year.

“It’s a glacier that moves about two, three meters per day. It’s collapsing all the time. Here, the glaciers are no longer in good health. Especially the part that is in contact with the ocean, the part that is low in altitude.”

Heïdi Sevestre, glaciologist

in the show “The superpowers of the ocean”

This special program also highlights the various initiatives carried out by hundreds of men and women who work for the preservation of the ocean and greater knowledge of its capital. A call for donations will be submitted to viewers to support projects to protect the seas and oceans, for the benefit of the France Nature Environnement association.

The show “The superpowers of the ocean”, in partnership with France Inter, is broadcast on France 2 Tuesday November 28 at 9:10 p.m.