Updated Arctic Ice Melting
September 7th, 2007 by Kishore
Ice is turquoise, seawater is black.
Some good news, researchers expect a northern sea route to open up between Europe and Asia in the next few years. Wait, that’s bad news.
The arctic ice cap has always been a variable feature on this planet, showing variation in shrinking and freezing over the course of a summer and winter. However, with increased oceanic temperature, the arctic is showing unprecedented summer shrinkage. Any man who has been in a cold swimming pool knows the feeling.
The study released by the NOAA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, took data from 11 climate models focused from 1979 to 1999. They then applied the models forward to 2050. Summer shrinkage is expected to increase from 18% (1979-1999) to 40% (2007-2050).
Takeaway:
Ice melting rate is increasing. As ice melts, the heat absorption rate of the ocean rises, leading to more ice melting. It’s a snowball effect. Concerning concerning concerning.
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