Arctic Sea Ice Lowest Its Ever Been
Illustration Credit: NSIDC
The National Snow and Ice Data Center here in Boulder has collected data from the 2007 melting season and discovered:
At the end of the melt season, September 2007 sea ice was 39 percent below the long-term average from 1979 to 2000 (Full Press Release).
These guys watch the ice from all over the planet using satellites with microwave radiometers along with meteorological satellites to get an idea of how much ice there is. Then, as the year progresses, measure how much of it is melting or growing.
In the northern hemisphere, as fall begins, the melting season ends and scientists are beginning to take stock of the damage. The results are pretty disturbing. Arctic sea ice melted so much this year that the northwest passage was opened for the first time ever. What’s more, researchers now think that we may have an ice-free arctic ocean in the summer within our lifetimes:
The sea ice cover is in a downward spiral and may have passed the point of no return. As the years go by, we are losing more and more ice in summer, and growing back less and less ice in winter. We may well see an ice-free Arctic Ocean in summer within our lifetimes. The scientists agree that this could occur by 2030. (Full Press Release)
It was also reported in EOS last week that the Greenland melting season set a new record, with a melting index up 153% greater than average. The melting index is just a number, defined as the melting area times the number of days melting occurred.
Image Credit: AGU/EOS
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