Ice retreat breaks records

Arctic sea ice has shrunk to the smallest area ever measured, US scientists confirm. This summer, for the first time in a long time, the northern passage was opened for ships seeking to bypass Alaska

Maps showing the shrinking of the Arctic ice cap

The National Center for Collecting Snow and Ice Data reports that on September 16, a minimum rate of 4.13 million square kilometers was reached. The numbers shatter all previous satellite surveys, including the previous minimum record of 5.32 million square kilometers measured in 2005. And earlier this month, it was reported that the Northwest Passage had opened.

This legendary sea passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific is usually ice-bound in certain places during the year. But this year, ships could pass without interruption on the route.

fast track

The Arctic Sea reduces its area in the summer months and grows again in the winter frosts. The researchers at the center examine the reduction of the ice every five days. The minimum for 2007 is smaller than the minimum set on September 20-21, 2005 which was the size of Texas and California combined, or approximately five times the size of Great Britain.

In an interview with the BBC, Mark Serez, a senior scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Collection Center said: "The year 2005 set the previous record and what happened then amazed us all. We have never seen anything like this, that so little ice covers the arctic sea at the end of summer. Then came 2007, which set a new and unbelievable record."

He adds: "We are in a strong downward spiral. Some would call it a death vortex. I would not go to such an extreme but we are definitely on a slippery slope. We know that there is natural variation, but the magnitude of the change is too great to be a product of nature's change alone."

The team will now monitor the regeneration process during the winter months.

Modeling the descent

In December 2006, a study conducted by scientists in the US predicted that the Arctic sea could be ice-free by 2040.

A team of scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research, from the University of Washington and McGill University, found that "positive feedback" probably accelerates the decline of the ice-making system in the region.

The light ice surface in the sea reflects 80% of the sun's rays that hit it, back into space. But as the ice melts during the summer, a larger area of ​​the dark ocean's surface is exposed. Instead of returning the sun's rays, the ocean absorbs 90% of them, which causes the water to warm and increases the rate of melting.

Scientists fear that this recurring feeding mechanism will have consequences for the natural life in the area, such as the polar bear that crosses the ice passes in search of food. On a global scale, the Arctic will lose many reflective areas, and will absorb more solar energy and this may accelerate weather changes around the world. m, confirm scientists in the USA.

The National Center for Collecting Snow and Ice Data reports that on September 16, a minimum rate of 4.13 million square kilometers was reached.

The numbers shatter all previous satellite surveys, including the previous minimum record of 5.32 million square kilometers measured in 2005.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the Northwest Passage had opened.

This legendary sea passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean is usually bounded by ice in certain places during the year. But this year, ships could pass without interruption on the route.

fast track

The Arctic Sea reduces its area in the summer months and grows again in the winter frosts.

The researchers at the center examine the reduction of the ice every five days. The minimum for 2007 is smaller than the minimum set on September 20-21, 2005 which was the size of Texas and California combined, or approximately five times the size of Great Britain.

In an interview with the BBC, Mark Serez, a senior scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Collection Center said: "The year 2005 set the previous record and what happened then amazed us all. We have never seen anything like this, that so little ice covers the arctic sea at the end of summer. Then came 2007, which set a new and unbelievable record."

He adds: "We are in a strong downward spiral. Some would call it a death vortex. I would not go to such an extreme but we are definitely on a slippery slope. We know that there is natural variation, but the magnitude of the change is too great to be a product of nature's change alone."

The team will now monitor the regeneration process during the winter months.

Modeling the descent

In December 2006, a study conducted by scientists in the US predicted that the Arctic sea could be ice-free by 2040.

A team of scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research, from the University of Washington and McGill University, found that "positive feedback" probably accelerates the decline of the ice-making system in the region.

The light ice surface in the sea reflects 80% of the sun's rays that hit it, back into space. But as the ice melts during the summer, a larger area of ​​the dark ocean's surface is exposed. Instead of returning the sun's rays, the ocean absorbs 90% of them, which causes the water to warm and increases the rate of melting.

Scientists fear that this recurring feeding mechanism will have consequences for the natural life in the area, such as the polar bear that crosses the ice passes in search of food. On a global scale, the Arctic will lose many reflective areas, and will absorb more solar energy and this may accelerate weather changes around the world.

Research: There is a high probability that the glaciers in Greenland will disappear within a thousand years

9.4.2004

Yuval Dror, Walla News adds that: There is a high probability that the vast ice sheets in Greenland - a remnant of the last ice age that hit the earth - will disappear within a thousand years as a result of global warming. This is according to a study published by a British researcher.

In the studies done in recent years, it is claimed that if in the future the average annual temperature in the Greenland region rises by three degrees Celsius compared to the current average temperature, the ice surfaces will disappear within a thousand years. Jonathan Gregory from the University of Reading in England now strengthens this claim: in an article he published in the latest issue of the journal Nature, he claims that 34 of the 35 models he tested predict that the increase in temperature in the region will lead to a warming of three degrees already in 350 years. In fact, according to some, an increase of eight degrees is expected until 2350 and after.

For news at the BBC

The great ice shelf in Greenland has been cut in two

The glacier, which has an area of ​​about 240 square kilometers, broke up despite estimates that the process had been stopped

25.9.2003

By: Yuval Dror

The large ice shelf in the northern half of the Earth, which is about 3,000 years old, has broken up and been cut into two parts, two Canadian scientists report. According to them, the breakup of the ice shelf is not a direct result of the greenhouse effect.

According to reports, the size of the glacier that broke off from the shelf is about 240 square kilometers, more than half the size of the ice shelf. Until 100 years ago, the ice shelf covered the northern shores of Canada in the area of ​​Ellesmere Island, the northernmost land body in North America. The remaining part of the shelf is known as the "Ward Hunt Ice Shelf", and is used as a popular starting point for tours of the North Pole.

The warming of the earth caused that until 90, 1982% of the surface of the ice shelf melted. The scientists believed that the breakup of the huge ice shelf had slowed down and stabilized. However, in April 2000, a Canadian satellite provided evidence that a renewed disintegration had begun. In 2002, a huge fissure was already located in the ice shelf, about 75 meters wide.

Researchers Warwick Vincent and Derek Muller from the University of Laval in Canada, who published the results of the tests in the journal Geophysical Research, Letters, claimed that the disintegration of the ice shelf causes the leakage of fresh water stored inside the glacier.

Since 1967, Canada has seen a consistent increase in temperature of four tenths of a degree every decade. The continued warming in these areas causes parts of the glacier to melt and create puddles on the surface.

These puddles are darker than the ice itself and therefore absorb more radiation and heat. This process causes further warming, further thawing which eventually leads to the disintegration of the glaciers. "We believe that these phenomena are part of a long-term process," Vincent said, but added that global warming caused by human activity may accelerate the process.

Gradual warming is also occurring in the South Pole. Last year, within one month, a huge glacier (Larsen B) with an area of ​​3,250 square kilometers broke into pieces. This glacier was in an area where there has been a dramatic increase of 2.5 degrees in the last 50 years.

Many scientists claim that the face of the Antarctic continent is also going to change in the next century, due to the retreat of glaciers and their melting. "We know that parts of Antarctica are warming and at a great speed," said Andrew Clarke, a British researcher in an interview with the British newspaper "The Guardian".