[graffis-l] ARCTIC SEA ICE SHRINKS TO RECORD LOW

[Guest guest]

At 08:32 AM 8/18/07, you wrote:

>Arctic sea ice shrinks to record low

>Posted by: " Mark Graffis " mgraffis mgraffis

>Sat Aug 18, 2007 2:58 am (PST)

>http://news./s/ap/20070818/ap_on_sc/low_ice;_ylt=ArsVSU0mgxJKly

>

>Arctic sea ice shrinks to record low

>By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science WriterFri Aug 17, 9:40 PM ET

>

>There was less sea ice in the Arctic on Friday than ever before on record,

>and the melting is continuing, the National Snow and Ice Data Center reported.

>

> " Today is a historic day, " said Mark Serreze, a senior research scientist

>at the center. " This is the least sea ice we've ever seen in the satellite

>record and we have another month left to go in the melt season this year. "

>

>Satellite measurements showed 2.02 million square miles of ice in the

>Arctic, falling below the Sept. 21, 2005, record minimum of 2.05 million

>square miles, the agency said.

>

>Sea ice is particularly low in the East Siberian side of the Arctic and

>the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska, the center reported.

>

>Ice in the Canadian Archipelago is also quite low. Along the Atlantic side

>of the Arctic Ocean, sea ice extent is not as unusually low, but there is

>still less than normal, according to the center located in Boulder, Colo.

>

>The snow and ice center is part of the Cooperative Institute for Research

>in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado. It receives

>support from NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and

>the National Science Foundation.

>

>Scientists began monitoring the extent of Arctic sea ice in the 1970s when

>satellite images became available.

>

>The polar regions have long been of concern to climate specialists

>studying global warming because those regions are expected to feel the

>impact of climate change sooner and to a greater extent than other areas.

>

>Sea ice in the Arctic helps keep those regions cool by reflecting sunlight

>that might be absorbed by darker land or ocean surfaces. Exposed to direct

>sun, for example, instead of reflecting 80 percent of the sunlight, the

>ocean absorbs 90 percent. That causes the ocean to heat up and raises

>Arctic temperatures.

>

>Unusually clear sky conditions have prevailed in the Arctic in June and

>July, promoting more sunshine at the time when the sun is highest in the

>sky over the region.

>

>The center said this led to an unusually high amount of solar energy being

>pumped onto the Arctic ice surface, accelerating the melting process.

>Fairly strong winds also brought in some warm air from the south.

>

>But, Serreze said in a telephone interview, while some natural variability

>is involved in the melting " we simply can't explain everything through

>natural processes. "

>

> " It is very strong evidence that we are starting to see an effect of

>greenhouse warming, " he said.

>

>The puzzling thing, he said, is that the melting is actually occurring

>faster than computer climate models have predicted.

>

>Several years ago he would have predicted a complete melt of Arctic sea

>ice in summer would occur by the year 2070 to 2100, Serreze said. But at

>the rates now occurring, a complete melt could happen by 2030, he said Friday.

>

>There will still be ice in winter, he said, but it could be gone in summer.

>

>___

>

>On the Net:

>

>National Snow and Ice Data Center: http://www.nsidc.org

 

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