Persuasive Letter on a Geoscience Issue - Essay Example

EAPS 100 September 10, Persuasive Letter on a Geoscience Issue The issue on increasing rate of melting of the polar ice has been encountered more frequently in current news recently. In your article entitled “Greenlands Shrunken Ice Sheet: Weve Been Here Before”, the main thrust of the article was focused more on Greenland’s ice sheet, which was apparently announced to be at its smallest in recent history (University of Buffalo). Although the relevance of the issue could not have been overemphasized, readers from various disciplines and backgrounds could have appreciated including the implications of the major point with regards to crucial impact of the receding ice sheets within the neighboring areas or on a global sphere in the near future.

According to the news item, the study of measuring the rate and extent of melting ice sheets in Greenland would be to determine how the oceans actually respond to changes in temperatures. More importantly, it emphasized that the results would provide crucial information regarding “what might happen in the future as the Earth continues to warm” (University of Buffalo par. 3). This is believed to be the most relevant implication that the study could have revealed to the readers. Despite the article being published in a publication that predominantly caters to science as the field of endeavor, it is deemed pertinent to disclose information that would benefit the general public.

The rest of the information which were revealed in the news included “illuminating the history of Greenlands ice sheet… (and) providing geologists with an important new tool: A method of using Arctic fossils to deduce when glaciers were smaller than they are today” (University of Buffalo par. 5). The next crucial concern after being informed about this was: so what? What is the relevant implication of knowing that glaciers were smaller in today’s generation than in 3,000 or 5,000 years ago?

This is the information that should have been added in the article to apprise the readers on any potential dangers or any significant courses of action to prepare for the event when and if the glaciers would totally be melted.The article was silent on any implication of the noted study. In fact, it ended by asserting that through the study of amino acid dating, it would allegedly “help scientists better understand the history of ice -- and climate change -- on Earth” (University of Buffalo par. 16). It is observed that there has been voluminous information that have already been disseminated regarding historical information on life on earth; as well as the causes and effects of climate change.

What readers would like to know is how different would the findings of the study be from other research studies that have been conducted on the subject matter.Historical information are only useful up to a certain extent; primarily only for documentary purposes. The more crucial and relevant information should focus on future implications of the study to include the impact and effects of a worst case scenario to the welfare of mankind.Work CitedUniversity of Buffalo. "Greenlands Shrunken Ice Sheet: Weve Been Here Before.

" 22 November 2013. Science Daily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131122165523.htm. 4 December 2013.