Tag: ice melting

As the ice melting creates an uncertain future for the Arctic environment, a new study published in Geophysical Research Letters suggests that the growth of trans-Arctic shipping and the subsequent increase in emissions may offset some of the overall warming trend in the Arctic by the end of the century.

The sea off the north coast of Greenland is usually so frozen that is is considered as the 'last ice area'. An area that would not be affected by global warming. However, this ice has started to break up; this happened twice this year, while it has never happened before.

Arctic sea ice reached its annual maximum extent on March 17, and joined 2015, 2016 and 2017 as the four lowest maximum extents on record, according to scientists at the NASA-supported National Snow and Ice Data Center and NASA. In the video, Dr. Claire Parkinson explains how and why NASA studies Arctic sea ice.

An international study lead by the Technical University of Denmark finds that the bedrock below the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is rising surprisingly fast which reveals an very fluid Earth Mantle. The unexpectedly fast rate of the rising earth may increase the stability of the ice sheet against catastrophic collapse due to ice loss.

A study by the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling showed that Antarctica’s ice sheet is losing ground as it is eroded by warm ocean water circulating beneath its surface. The study was published in Nature Geoscience, and showed that the Southern Ocean melted 1,463 km2 of Antarctica’s underwater ice between 2010 and 2016, an area the size of London.

A range of less than one degree Fahrenheit, or half a degree Celsius, of climate warming over the next century, could be proven crucial for Arctic as it increases the probability of future ice-free summers in the Arctic, a research by the University of Colorado shows. The research also noted that if warming stays at 1.5 degrees Celsius, the possibility of ice-free summers would drop by 70%.

The four lowest seasonal maximums all happened during the last four years. The reduction of the Arctic sea ice cover has many effects, impacting climate and weather, the marine environment, and indigenous human communities. The reduced ice is also changing shipping routes, increasing coastal erosion and affecting ocean circulation.

According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, data showed that ice is nearly 10% below average this January in the Arctic, an area larger than the states of California, Oregon and Washington combined. Carbon emissions are causing this change.

A study conducted by NASA, based on an innovative technique for crunching torrents of satellite data, provided a clear picture of changes in Antarctic ice flow into the ocean. The findings confirm increased ice losses from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The new work provides a baseline for measurement of Antarctic ice changes.