Tag: ice melting

Human-caused climate change is on track to make the Arctic Ocean functionally ice-free for part of each year starting sometime between 2044 and 2067, said a recent study by the US University of California (UCLA) climate scientists.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) published its updated edition of the "Arctic Report Card for 2019", focusing on the risks generated from the warming air temperatures, the declining sea ice and the warming waters. The report pays attention basically to the Bering Sea region.

A study issued in the journal "Geophysical Research Letters" informs that what has been the oldest and thickest Arctic sea ice has begun disappearing, twice as fast in the rest of the Arctic Ocean, because atmospheric winds in north of Greenland transfer sea ice to other parts of the Arctic. 

A newly-published study presented the idea of 'artificial snow' could prevent further ice melting and could stop the West Antarctic Ice Sheet from sliding into the ocean. The scientists launched an engineering project to blanket the ice sheet's surface. 

According to scientists, the Thwaites Glacier, which is as enormous as the size of Florida, is on the edge of melting so quickly that it could result to catastrophic global sea level rises. This glacier is one of five recently identified as unstable Antarctic glaciers, which have doubled their rate of ice loss in just six years. 

Norwegian Government's State Secretary Marianne Hagen commented on maritime security in the Western Indian Ocean, during a ministerial conference. She highlighted that Somali piracy hasn't been eradicated yet. The State Secretary noted that Norway wishes to maintain its capacity on prosecuting and imprisoning pirates here in the region, with Mauritius, the Seychelles and Kenya as important partners.

In a new study, the UK Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling informed that it has tracked changes in snow and ice cover across the Antarctic. Namely, the continent's ice sheet has thinned by up to 122 metres in places. Lead author and CPOM Director Professor Andy Shepherd, said that ice losses from East and West Antarctica have contributed 4.6 mm to global sea level rise since 1992.

One of the Finnish priorities that Ambassador Aleksi Härkönen, Chair of the Senior Arctic Officials, emphasizes as a success, is meteorological cooperation. Mr. Härkönen said that they have already achieved a breakthrough when the WMO and national meteorological institutes decided to actively contribute to meteorological cooperation in the Arctic.

Arctic’s icecap is shrinking 12% faster than it was a decade ago, and nearly all of its older and thicker ice is already gone. Nick Hughes, who leads the Norwegian Ice Service addressed the possibility that in 2045 all vessels might be able to sail straight over the top of the world.

Polar Vortex, a pattern of high-altitude winds in the Arctic, weakened resulting to frigid air over North America and Europe in the second half of January 2019. Although the Arctic ice sea extent remained below average, temperatures in the far north were closer to average than in past years. Specifically, Arctic sea ice extent for January averaged 13.56 million square kilometers (5.24 million square miles). This was 860.000 square kilometres less in comparison to 1981 to 2010 long-term average sea ice extent, and 500.000 square kilometres above the record low for the month set in January 2018.