The Arctic is a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by tree-less, frozen ground, that teems with life, including organisms living in the ice, fish and marine mammals, birds, land animals and human societies. |
 |
"There is no one perfect way to predict summer sea ice loss in the Arctic," said Wang. "So we looked at three approaches that result in widely different dates, but all three suggest nearly sea ice-free summers in the Arctic before the middle of this century." |
James Overland of NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and Muyin Wang of the NOAA Joint Institute for the Study of Atmosphere and Ocean at the University of Washington, recently published a paper in Geophysical Research Letters which looked at three methods of predicting when the Arctic will be nearly ice free in the summer. They predict a nearly ice free summer arctic before 2050, sooner than many previously thought. The term "nearly" ice free is important as some sea ice is expected to remain north of the Canadian Archipelago and Greenland. "Rapid Arctic sea ice loss is probably the most visible indicator of global climate change; it leads to shifts in ecosystems and economic access, and potentially impacts weather throughout the northern hemisphere," said Overland. "Increased physical understanding of rapid Arctic climate shifts and improved models are needed that give a more detailed picture and timing of what to expect so we can better prepare and adapt to such changes. Early loss of Arctic sea ice gives immediacy to the issue of climate change.". Learn more from the NOAA press release. |
Arctic Videos