Posted on 09/28/2005 6:27:13 PM PDT by blam
Arctic ice cap 'will disappear within the century'
By Roger Highfield, Science Editor
(Filed: 29/09/2005)
The Arctic ice cap is on track to disappear within a century, according to a study published yesterday.
The satellite survey by the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC), and the space agency Nasa reveals that for the fourth consecutive year there has been "a stunning reduction" in Arctic sea ice at the end of the northern summer, placing species such as polar bears at risk.
The reduction in ice levels places Arctic wildlife at risk
The survey recorded the lowest sea-ice extent yet seen - 2.06 million square miles on Sept 19 - 20 per cent below the mean average September sea-ice extent from 1978 to 2001.
That is the equivalent of 500,000 square miles - an area about twice the size of Texas.
This year "will almost certainly surpass 2002 as the lowest amount of ice cover in more than a century", said Julienne Stroeve, of the Centre. If current rates of decline in sea ice continue, the summertime Arctic could be ice-free well before the end of this century.
A recent assessment of trends throughout the past century indicates that the current decline also exceeds past low ice periods in the 1930s and 1940s.
From 1979 until 2001, the rate of September decline was slightly more than 6.5 per cent a decade. In 2002, the trend steepened to 7.3 per cent and is now approximately 8 per cent.
Walt Meier, of NSIDC, said: "Having four years in a row with such low ice extents has never been seen before in the satellite record. It indicates a downward trend, not just a short-term anomaly."
Cooler winter temperatures allow the sea ice to "rebound" after summer melting. But with the exception of May 2005, every month since December 2004 has set a new record low ice extent for that month. The winter recovery of sea ice extent in the 2004-05 season was also the smallest observed by satellites.
"Even if sea ice retreated a lot one summer, it would make a comeback the following winter, when temperatures fall well below freezing," said Florence Fetterer, of NSIDC. "But in the winter of 2004-05, sea ice didn't approach the previous wintertime level."
Compared to the past half century, average surface air temperatures from January until August 2005, were up to 3C (5.4F) warmer than average across most of the Arctic Ocean. Since 2002, satellite records have also revealed that springtime melting is beginning unusually early north of Alaska and Siberia.
This summer, the Northwest Passage was open except for a 60-mile swath of scattered ice floes, a far cry from earlier centuries when expeditions were lost as their crews tried to beat through thick ice. The Northeast Passage, north of the Siberian coast, was ice-free from Aug 15 until Sept 28.
The Arctic may be caught in a feedback loop caused by global warming. As sea ice melts there is less to reflect the sun's radiation back into space and experts fear that the downward trend is reaching a point from which the ice will not recover.
Oh how I wish I could grow sweet corn. We try every year in spite of the fact we've never, ever succeeded in having even one cob for dinner. Yeppers, a positive attitude is what it takes to live up here. LOL But the tomatoes? Ah, we've had the year of the green tomato now and then, but they are quite easy to grow.
"Does this mean that Santa Clause is a goner?"
LOL ! My first thought as well. Maybe he can move to Florida.
I think we should ship a couple of million freezers to New Orleans and freeze all the water there - and then ship it to the Arctic to restore the Ice Caps...we could put this idea in the $250,000,000,000 Bill the &*(%$@@^ Senators from LA are trying to pass - and solve two problems with the same money /sarcasm
What state do you live in? Ah yes, "winter" isn't for everyone. I'm a "four seasons" kind of gal....I just love all of the seasons and can't imagine living where there are only one or two to choose from. I love winter too, but I have to admit that come the end of January, cabin fever can set in. That 10 mile stare in a 10 foot room....something like that, it ain't pretty. LOL
I remember when the kids would go trick-or-treating on their snowmachines, but there was a year or two where I actually drove them around our area in our truck because the temps were -40 and snow deep enough that I couldn't go down most driveways.
Would all of the north pole ice have to move to the south pole & the south pole ice move to the north pole?
Nope, the weather and ice are due to the tilt of the earth's axis in it's orbit around the sun. It will always be cold a the poles.
Maybe new poles will form in the East & West
AFAIK, the swap is pretty quick (geological time-wise). It is probably due to simple magnetic principles (the core being composed of iron, etc.).
Magpies have very long tails and are smaller than crows. There are very carnivorous, eating any dead animals they can find, they seem especially fond of road kills. They are black and white, and as I said, their tails are long. They have either black or yellow beaks, there being two subspecies.
We get winter here in Michigan. I'm just lucky that I don't live in the snowbelt along the lake.
Does this mean that Santa Clause is a goner?
No, Santa Clause is a Gomer...
Well, hello there, Michigan! When my husband and I have talked about moving (it will never happen) but we talk about it.....we talk about northern Michigan. We were born and raised in Wisconsin. Many folks in Alaska are immigrants from the midwest. :)
Nope, the weather and ice are due to the tilt of the earth's axis in it's orbit around the sun. It will always be cold a the poles.
Well, that's a comforting.
I could imagine all of the icebergs from the North pole flowing south & all of the ice from the South pole flowing north. Just think of how many Titanics that could sink!
If all of the ice left the South pole, the land would rise up into mountains & if that ice moved to the North pole, half of the US would be under ice??
Right??
Bush's fault... again.
This explains why New York is under water.
Oh yeah. It was New Orleans.
I'm the worst gardener. Been too busy to even plant one the last couple of years.
I'd buy the sweet corn from a local farmer.
Fresh okra would also be "cool"
Arctic ice cap 'will disappear within the century'
Yeah? And gay penguins will go straight by the end of 2005!
Oh, that happened.
Morons.
Well, they'll just have to evolve less fur and blubber. They got 95 years so I suggest they get crackin.
Based upon currently measured trends, within some unspecified number of years the Colorado River will continue to erode and cut through the Grand Canyon, and eventually slice the earth completely in two.
The Hoosiers have already fixed up a place for Santa in Spencer Co., any time he wants to go there.
But when will the tin foil caps disappear?
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