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Arctic Could be Ice-Free in future Summers
Washington, February 8 2010 -
Are warming conditions in the Arctic unprecedented in Earth’s history? It turns out that they are not. The Earth’s climate has gone through warming and cooling times in the past as can be seen in the fossil record that shows tropical species in regions now too cool to support them.
These past variations were obviously not caused by the effects of man's activities. This does not mean that the current warming trend is not caused, or affected by anthropogenic air pollution.
There is now increased evidence that the Arctic could face seasonally ice-free conditions and much warmer temperatures in the future.
Scientists have documented evidence that the Arctic Ocean and Nordic Seas were too warm to support summer sea ice during the mid-Pliocene warm period (3.3 to 3 million years ago). This period is characterized by warm temperatures similar to those projected for the end of this century, and is used as an analog to understand future conditions.
> www.enn.com: Arctic Could be Ice-Free in future Summers
Arctic Melting Triple Threat: Less Winter Ice Means More Summer Melt, It's All Happening Faster Than Thought + It's Going to Cost Us...
Washington, February 8 2010 -
Three less than encouraging reports about the state of climate change in the Arctic via Reuters: 1) The director of the National Snow & Ice Date Center says less winter ice this year may mean greater summer melting; 2) the end of the three year Canadian study says changes in the Arctic are happening faster than anyone expected; and, 3) melting in the Arctic is going to cost the world collectively some $24 trillion by 2050.
> www.reuters.com: Arctic Melt To Cost Up To $24 Trillion By 2050: Report
Arctic Melt To Cost Up To $24 Trillion By 2050: Report
Washington, February 8 2010 -
Arctic ice melting could cost global agriculture, real estate and insurance anywhere from $2.4 trillion to $24 trillion by 2050 in damage from rising sea levels, floods and heat waves, according to a report released on Friday.
> www.reuters.com: Arctic Melt To Cost Up To $24 Trillion By 2050: Report
Scant Arctic ice could mean summer "double whammy"
Washington, February 5 2010 -
Scant ice over the Arctic Sea this winter could mean a "double whammy" of powerful ice-melt next summer, a top U.S. climate scientist said on Thursday.
> www.reuters.com: Scant Arctic ice could mean summer "double whammy
Melt Season in the Arctic Getting Longer
New York, February 3, 2010 -
The icy cap over Earth’s North Pole reaches its summer minimum in September and its winter maximum in late February or early March. Satellite observations since 1979 have shown that amount of ice that survives the summer is getting smaller; declines have been especially dramatic in the past decade. Recently, scientists from NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center described another way Arctic sea ice is changing: the summer melt season is getting significantly longer.
> www.enn.com: Melt Season in the Arctic Getting Longer
The Unfrozen North
Washington, December 29, 2009 -
The Arctic was a very different place 3,000,000 years ago, between 10 to 18 degrees warmer, sea level 25 - 35 metres higher, with the average temperature of the Earth only 3 degrees warmer.
Scientists have documented evidence that the Arctic Ocean and Nordic Seas were too warm to support summer sea ice during the mid-Pliocene warm period (3.3 to 3 million years ago). This period is characterized by world temperatures similar to those projected for the end of this century, and is used to help understand future conditions.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) has found that summer sea surface temperatures in the Arctic were between 10 to 18°C (50 to 64°F) during the mid-Pliocene, while current temperatures are around or below 0°C (32°F). The Pliocene is a time period 2.5 to 5 million years before the present year. Carbon dioxide concentration is estimated to have been at about 350 ppm in this period.
> www.enn.com: The Unfrozen North
> micropress.org: New quantitative evidence of extreme warmth in the Pliocene Arctic (Full article)
Study: Earth's polar ice sheets vulnerable to even moderate global warming
(Princeton / Harvard) / London, December 16 2009 -
A new analysis of the geological record of the Earth's sea level, carried out by scientists at Princeton and Harvard universities and published in the Dec. 16 issue of Nature, employs a novel statistical approach that reveals the planet's polar ice sheets are vulnerable to large-scale melting even under moderate global warming scenarios. Such melting would lead to a large and relatively rapid rise in global sea level.
> Study: Earth's polar ice sheets vulnerable to even moderate global warming
"We have woken giants."
Arctic summer ice may be gone in five years, Al Gore warns
Copenhagen, December 14, 2009 -
The Arctic polar ice cap could disappear entirely in the summer months in as little as five years, Al Gore, the former American Vice-President, said.
Mr Gore was the star draw at a Copenhagen summit side event during which Scandinavian scientists delivered a grim update on the state of the Greenland ice sheet and its potential to contribute to rising sea levels over the coming century.
Gore showed slides of projections of sea ice volume at the North Pole that he said he had just received from Wieslaw Maslowski of the US Naval Postgraduate School in California.
Gore's speech was roundly criticised by members of the climate science community. “This is an exaggeration that opens the science up to criticism from sceptics,” Professor Jim Overland, a leading oceanographer at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
“You really don’t need to exaggerate the changes in the Arctic.”
Others said that, even if quoted correctly, Dr Maslowski’s six-year projection for near-ice-free conditions is at the extreme end of the scale. Most climate scientists agree that a 20 to 30-year timescale is more likely for the near-disappearance of sea ice.
“Maslowski’s work is very well respected, but he’s a bit out on a limb,” said Professor Peter Wadhams, a specialist in ocean physics at the University of Cambridge.
Dr Maslowki, who works at the US Naval Postgraduate School in California, said that his latest results give a six-year projection for the melting of 80 per cent of the ice, but he said he expects some ice to remain beyond 2020.
> www.huffingtonpost.com: Arctic summer ice may be gone in five years, Al Gore warns
> www.timesonline.co.uk: Arctic summer ice may be gone in five years, Al Gore warns
> www.timesonline.co.uk: Inconvenient truth for Al Gore as his North Pole sums don't add up
> news.aol.com / Gore: Polar ice may vanish in 5-7 years
See also:
> news.bbc.co.uk: Arctic summers ice-free 'by 2013'
> The Big Melt: Arctic sets records on all fronts
Foreign Minister Støre and former Vice President Al Gore present report on melting ice at climate summit
Copenhagen, December 14 2009 -
For the first time ever, leading international scientists have drawn up a report on the status of the parts of the world covered by snow and ice. The conclusion is that they are disappearing faster than anticipated. “This is disturbing news. The world’s leaders must reach an agreement that ensures dramatic cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases,” commented Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
> www.regjeringen.no: Foreign Minister Støre and former Vice President Al Gore present report on melting ice at climate summit
Multiyear Arctic ice is effectively gone: expert
Manitoba, October 29, 2009 -
The multiyear ice covering the Arctic Ocean has effectively vanished, a startling development that will make it easier to open up polar shipping routes, an Arctic expert said on Thursday.
> www.reuters.com: Multiyear Arctic ice is effectively gone: expert
Ice cover linked to climate for at least 30,000 years
Plymouth, October 26 2009 -
Changes in the amount of ice covering the Arctic have been linked to the climate for at least 30,000 years, report scientists in Nature Geoscience.
> planetearth.nerc.ac.uk: Ice cover linked to climate for at least 30,000 years
Palms Grew In Ice-Free Arctic 50 Million Years Ago: study
Utrecht (NL) Oslo (NO), October 26 2009 -
Palms flourished in the Arctic during a brief sweltering period about 50 million years ago, according to a study on Sunday that hints at big gaps in scientific understanding of modern climate change.
The Arctic "would have looked very similar to the vegetation we now see in Florida," said Appy Sluijs of Utrecht University in the Netherlands who led an international study. Evidence of palms has never been found so far north before.
The scientists, sampling sediments on a ridge on the seabed that was about 500 km (300 miles) from the North Pole 53.5 million years ago, found pollens of ancient palms as well as of conifers, oaks, pecans and other trees.
> www.planetark.org: Palms Grew In Ice-Free Arctic 50 Million Years Ago: study
> www.nature.com: Warm and wet conditions in the Arctic region during Eocene Thermal Maximum 2
On top of the world...
(Newsweek), October 9, 2009 -
Government estimates suggest that it may take 30 years until the Arctic is ice-free during the summer. Crunching the numbers, University of Alaska's Rick Steiner foresees a completely ice-free summer within the next decade. By then, the crisis will have turned into a catastrophe.
> www.newsweek.com: On top of the world
> news.bbc.co.uk: Arctic to be 'ice-free in summer' (Oct 15 2009)
> www.independent.co.uk: Most Arctic sea ice 'gone in decade' (Oct 15 2009)
Arctic ice melts to third-smallest area on record
Los Angeles, 17 September 2009 -
The Arctic's sea ice pack thawed to its third-lowest summer level on record, up slightly from the seasonal melt of the past two years but continuing an overall decline symptomatic of climate change, U.S. scientists said on Thursday.
> www.reuters.com: Arctic ice melts to third-smallest area on record">
> nsidc.org: Daily update sea ice extent
A triumph for man, a disaster for mankind
Berlin, 12 September 2009 -
No commercial vessel has ever successfully travelled the North-east Passage, a fabled Arctic Sea route that links the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific far more directly than the usual southerly cargo route.
It has been one of the elusive goals of seafaring nations almost since the beginnings of waterborne trade, but for nearly 500 years the idea has been dismissed as an impossible dream. Now, as a result of global warming, the dream of Willem Barentsz is about to come true.
> www.independent.co.uk: A triumph for man, a disaster for mankind
Dramatic biological responses to global warming in the Arctic
New York, 11 September 2009 -
"The Arctic as we know it may soon be a thing of the past," says Eric Post, associate professor of biology at Penn State University. Post leads a large, international team that carried out ecosystem-wide studies of the biological response to Arctic warming during the fourth International Polar Year, which ended in 2008. The team's results will be reported on 11 September 2009 in the journal Science.
> www.physorg.com: Dramatic biological responses to global warming in the Arctic
> notes.helsinki.fi / UH: The change in Arctic nature foreshadows the global environment of the future
> www.sciencedaily.com: Dramatic Biological Responses To Global Warming In The Arctic
> www.canada.com: List of threatened Arctic animals is growing
IPY follow-up requires year-round research on Arctic and global warming
Alberta, 10 September 2009 -
Arctic and Antarctic research teams pulled back to warmer climates when the International Polar Year wrapped last March. But the call has gone out for a return to the poles for a more focused investigation into the effects of global warming. Leading the charge back to the Canadian Arctic is David Hik, a University of Alberta biology professor and a lead researcher with IPY.
> www.iab.uaf.edu: IPY follow-up requires year-round research on Arctic and global warming
> www.iab.uaf.edu: UA scientists seek new emphases in Arctic climate change research
Climate change: melting ice will trigger wave of natural disasters
London, 6 September 2009 -
Scientists at a London conference next week will warn of earthquakes, avalanches and volcanic eruptions as the atmosphere heats up and geology is altered. Even Britain could face being struck by tsunamis.
> www.guardian.co.uk: Melting ice will trigger wave of natural disasters">
North by Northwest – S'COOL on First Leg of Ocean Passage
(NASA/ EO), September 4, 2009 -
NASA's S'COOL project is now underway in a part of the world where few have sailed before: the open waters of the Northwest Passage. The Northwest Passage is one of the most awaited legs of the voyage; ten years ago, navigating through the icy region was nearly impossible.
S'COOL, Students' Cloud Observations On-Line, is one of eight scientific experiments onboard the ship Ocean Watch as it journeys around the Americas to help promote ocean health awareness. S'COOL was invited to be part of the expedition by the Around the Americas (ATA) project, a 13-month adventure that includes visits to 31 ports in 12 countries, where the Ocean Watch crew will promote public education and awareness about ocean science and marine conservation.
> earthobservatory.nasa.gov: North by Northwest – S'COOL on First Leg of Ocean Passage
Global warming has made Arctic summers hottest for 2,000 years
London, September 4 2009 -
Warming as a result of increased levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has overwhelmed a millennia-long cycle of natural cooling in the Arctic, raising temperatures in the region to their highest for at least 2,000 years, according to a report.
> www.guardian.co.uk: Global warming has made Arctic summers hottest for 2,000 years
> news.bbc.co.uk: Arctic 'warmest in 2,000 years'
Arctic Warming Overtakes 2,000 Years of Natural Cooling
Boulder, September 3 2009 -
Arctic temperatures in the 1990s reached their warmest level of any decade in at least 2,000 years, new research indicates. The study, which incorporates geologic records and computer simulations, provides new evidence that the Arctic would be cooling if not for greenhouse gas emissions that are overpowering natural climate patterns.
> www.ucar.edu: Arctic Warming Overtakes 2,000 Years of Natural Cooling
Warming Arctic's global impacts outstrip predictions
Genève, September 2 2009 -
Warming in the Arctic could lead to flooding affecting one quarter of the world’s population, substantial increases in greenhouse gas emissions from massive carbon pools, and extreme global weather changes, according to a new WWF report.
The rapidly warming Arctic region is destabilising Earth's climate in ways science is just beginning to comprehend.
The entire world is being affected, and without urgent action to cut emissions, a too-warm Arctic could trigger catastrophic, irreversible climate change, top scientists say in a report released Wednesday in Geneva.
"It is crucial to know the full consequences of the Arctic warming, and this is an unprecedented review of the latest science," said Martin Sommerkorn, an Arctic researcher and senior climate change advisor to World Wildlife Fund International.
> ipsnews.net: Earth's Fridge Defrosting, With Dire Results
> www.panda.org: Warming Arctic's global impacts outstrip predictions
> www.panda.org: Arctic Climate Feedbacks: Global Implications Executive summary
Related:
> UN's Ban: World heading for abyss on climate change: UN chief (Sep 03)
UN chief 'alarmed' at Arctic glacier melt
NY-AALESUND, (Svalbard/Norway), September 1 2009 —
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday he was "alarmed" by the rate at which the Arctic's glaciers are retreating as he visited the region ahead of key climate talks in December.
Ban said world leaders had a "moral political responsibility" to safeguard the future of the planet.
"I am very much alarmed and surprised to have seen these glaciers all worn," he told journalists as he visited the Ny-Aalesund climate change research station in the Svalbard archipelago, located 1,200 kilometres (745 miles) from the North Pole.
"Unless we take urgent action to stem this trend, we maybe virtually ice-free by 2037, even by 2030," he said.
> www.afp.com: UN chief 'alarmed' at Arctic glacier melt">
Satellites and submarines give the skinny on sea ice thickness
(PhysOrg), September 1th, 2009 -
This summer, a group of scientists and students — as well as a Canadian senator, a writer, and a filmmaker — set out from Resolute Bay, Canada, on the icebreaker Louis S. St-Laurent. They were headed through the Northwest Passage, but instead of opening shipping lanes in the ice, they had gathered to open up new lines of thinking on Arctic science.
> www.nasa.gov: Satellites and submarines give the skinny on sea ice thickness
Vast expanses of Arctic ice melt in summer heat
(PhysOrg), August 9th, 2009 -
The Arctic Ocean has given up tens of thousands more square miles (square kilometers) of ice on Sunday in a relentless summer of melt, with scientists watching through satellite eyes for a possible record low polar ice cap.
> www.physorg.com: Vast expanses of Arctic ice melt in summer heat
Arctic Ocean may be polluted soup by 2070
New York, August 6, 2009 -
Within 60 years the Arctic Ocean could be a stagnant, polluted soup. Without drastic cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions, the Transpolar Drift, one of the Arctic's most powerful currents and a key disperser of pollutants, is likely to disappear because of global warming.
> www.newscientist.com: Arctic Arctic Ocean may be polluted soup by 2070
Arctic ice thinned dramatically since 2004 - NASA
Washington, July 7 2009 -
Arctic sea ice has thinned dramatically since 2004, with the older, thicker ice giving way to a younger, thinner kind that melts in the northern summer, NASA scientists reported on Tuesday.
> www.popsci.com: Arctic ice thinned dramatically since 2004 - NASA
> www.nasa.gov: Satellites Show Arctic Literally on Thin Ice
> www.nasa.gov: New NASA Satellite Survey Reveals Dramatic Arctic Sea Ice Thinning
> nsidc.org: Arctic Sea Ice News and Analysis
As Alaska Glaciers Melt, It’s Land That’s Rising
Juneau, (Alaska), May 17, 2009 —
Global warming conjures images of rising seas that threaten coastal areas. But in Juneau, as almost nowhere else in the world, climate change is having the opposite effect: As the glaciers here melt, the land is rising, causing the sea to retreat.
www.nytimes.com: As Alaska Glaciers Melt, It’s Land That’s Rising
Arctic Explorers Find More Evidence Of Global Thaw
London, May 14 2009 -
A team of British adventurers measuring ice conditions in the Canadian Arctic said on Wednesday they did not find the thicker, older ice that scientists expected to be there.
Instead they found only the thinner, predominantly first-year ice that is likely to melt in summer months, in what could be another sign of the impact climate change is having on the Arctic ice sheets.
> planetark.org: Arctic Explorers Find More Evidence Of Global Thaw
> news.bbc.co.uk / Arctic diary: Explorers' ice quest
> www.guardian.co.uk: Arctic explorers end mission to survey sea ice
> www.telegraph.co.uk: Arctic Explorers Find More Evidence Of Global Thaw
Thinning Arctic sea ice alarms experts
London, April 7 2009 -
Volume of Arctic sea ice last summer may have been lowest on record – and possibly worst in 8,000 years.
The total volume of sea ice in the Arctic is likely to have reached a record low last summer, despite previous reports that the area of ice recovered slightly from the previous year's dramatic decline, leading experts have warned.
The latest alarm about the fate of the Arctic sea ice, due to an unusually high proportion of thinner "first-year" ice, raises the prospect of an acceleration in the loss of ice during the warmer summer months, considered a key indicator of climate change.
> www.guardian.co.uk: Thinning Arctic sea ice alarms experts
> www.guardian.co.uk: The gradual disappearance of older Arctic sea ice (Video)
> www.sciam.com: Skating on thin ice: Why the poles might need environmental police (April 7 2009)
Arctic will be ice-free within a decade
London, April 7 2009 -
The Arctic Ocean could be ice-free in less than a decade, scientists have warned, as the latest figures show the thickness of the ice cap has shrunk to a record low.
The Nasa figures showed an increase in winter sea ice this year to 5.85 million square miles, 282,000 square miles above the record low of 2006.
However this is still the fifth lowest on record and 278,000 square miles less than the average extent for 1979 to 2000.
The ice is also thinner than ever. Just ten per cent of the ice is two-years-old or more, compared to an average 30 per cent thicker coverage between 1981 and 2000, meaning the volume of ice is probably lower than it has ever been.
www.telegraph.co.uk: Arctic will be ice-free within a decade
Arctic ice shows winter thinning
Los Angeles, April 7 2009 -
Arctic ice reached a larger maximum area this winter than in the last few years, scientists say, but the long-term trend still shows it declining.
The frozen ocean of the Arctic might disappear far sooner than scientists have previously predicted with the first ice-free summer occurring within the next 30 years – three times earlier than estimated.
news.bbc.co.uk: Arctic ice shows winter thinning
news.bbc.co.uk: Arctic ice shows winter thinning
Satellite data shows Arctic on thinner ice
Los Angeles, April 6 2009 -
Arctic sea ice, a key component of Earth's natural thermostat, has thinned sharply in recent years with the northern polar ice cap shrinking steadily in surface area, government scientists said on Monday.
www.reuters.com: Satellite data shows Arctic on thinner ice
Arctic sea ice younger, thinner as melt season begins
Boulder (USA), April 7 2009 -
Arctic sea ice extent has begun its seasonal decline towards the September minimum. Ice extent through the winter was similar to that of recent years, but lower than the 1979 to 2000 average. More importantly, the melt season has begun with a substantial amount of thin first-year ice, which is vulnerable to summer melt.
nsidc.org: Full analysis from NSIDC scientists
Arctic meltdown is a threat to humanity
New York, March 25, 2009 -
I am shocked, truly shocked," says Katey Walter, an ecologist at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. "I was in Siberia a few weeks ago, and I am now just back in from the field in Alaska. The permafrost is melting fast all over the Arctic, lakes are forming everywhere and methane is bubbling up out of them."
www.newscientist.com: Arctic meltdown is a threat to humanity
Global warming may trigger carbon 'time bomb', scientist warns
Global warming leaving its mark on polar bears
Tromsø (N), March 19 2009 –
Potentially fatal to the polar bear, global warming has already left its mark on the species with smaller, less robust bears that are increasingly showing cannibalistic tendencies.
Top experts who gathered this week in Tromsoe in northern Norway to discuss ways of protecting the species sounded alarm bells over the dramatic consequences of the melting ice.
news.yahoo.com: Global warming leaving its mark on polar bears
www.spiegel.de: Fighting for Survival in the Arctic
www.spiegel.de: Picture Gallery / First of five
Arctic Summer Ice Could Vanish By 2013: Expert
Ottawa, March 6 2009 –
The Arctic is warming up so quickly that the region's sea ice cover in summer could vanish as early as 2013, decades earlier than some had predicted, a leading polar expert said.
Warwick Vincent, director of the Center for Northern Studies at Laval University in Quebec, said recent data on the ice cover "appear to be tracking the most pessimistic of the models", which call for an ice free summer in 2013.
The year "2013 is starting to look as though it is a lot more reasonable as a prediction. But each year we've been wrong -- each year we're finding that it's a little bit faster than expected," he told Reuters.
planetark.org: Arctic Summer Ice Could Vanish By 2013: Expert
Explorers begin epic Arctic trek
London, March 1 2009 –
A British team has begun a gruelling trek to the North Pole to discover how quickly the Arctic sea-ice is melting.
Renowned Arctic explorer Pen Hadow and two companions were dropped onto the ice by plane 800km (500 miles) off the northern coast of Canada on Saturday.
During their 1,000km journey they plan to take measurements of the thickness of the ice.
It will be the most detailed survey of its kind this season, and should be completed in late May.
news.bbc.co.uk: Explorers begin epic Arctic trek
Polar research reveals new evidence of global environmental change
Geneva, 25 February 2009 –
Multidisciplinary research from the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008 provides new evidence of the widespread effects of global warming in the polar regions. Snow and ice are declining in both polar regions, affecting human livelihoods as well as local plant and animal life in the Arctic, as well as global ocean and atmospheric circulation and sea level. These are but a few findings reported in “State of Polar Research”, released today by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the International Council for Science (ICSU). In addition to lending insight into climate change, IPY has aided our understanding of pollutant transport, species’ evolution, and storm formation, among many other areas.
www.wmo.int: Polar research reveals new evidence of global environmental change
Polar regions found warming fast, raising sea levels
Geneva, February 25 2009 -
The Arctic and Antarctic regions are warming faster than previously thought, raising world sea levels and making drastic global climate change more likely than ever, international scientists said.
New evidence of the trend was uncovered by wide-ranging research in the two areas over the past two years in a United Nations-backed program dubbed the International Polar Year (IPY), they said.
www.reuters.com: Polar regions found warming fast, raising sea levels
news.bbc.co.uk: Polar Year 'hailed as a success'
afp.com: Scientists find bigger than expected polar ice melt
Arctic Coastal Erosion Doubles in 50 Years
Chicago, February 20 2009 -
As if record-breaking losses of sea ice and thawing permafrost weren't enough, climate change is also sweeping parts of the Arctic out to sea. New research in Geophysical Research Letters reports that the rate of erosion along a stretch of Alaska's northeastern coastline has doubled over the past 52 years. Such deterioration of arctic coastlines is likely to have significant impacts on local ecosystems, communities living in the Arctic, and oil and gas development.
sciencenow.sciencemag.org: Arctic Coastal Erosion Doubles in 50 Years
Melt-pools 'accelerating Arctic ice loss'
Melting pool on the Greenland ice cap. Click on the picture for more info about Greenland. Photo courtesy Greenpeace.
London, February 18 2009 -
Pools of melted ice and snow that form on the surface of the Arctic sea ice explain why melt of northern ice sheet is occurring at a faster rate than predicted, scientists say.
The IPCC’s computer models had simulated an average loss of 2.5% in sea ice extent per decade from 1953 to 2006. But in reality the Arctic ice sheet had declined at a rate of about 7.8% per decade.
New research has revealed that melt-water pooling on the Arctic ice is causing it to melt at a faster rate than computer models had previously predicted.
> www.guardian.co.uk: Melt-pools 'accelerating Arctic ice loss'
> Greenland is melting
Arctic's personal greenhouse turns up the heat
Michigan / De Bilt (NL), February 18 2009 -
It might be one of the coldest regions on the planet but the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the globe - and now we know the reasons why. Two new studies show that the greenhouse effect is stronger above the North Pole, and that the waters of the Arctic Ocean are acting like a radiator to heat the region's atmosphere.
www.newscientist.com: Arctic's personal greenhouse turns up the heat
Team Will Use Radar To Measure Thinning Arctic Ice
Ottawa (CND), February 13 2009 -
Three British polar adventurers will this month begin a 620-mile trek to the North Pole with an experimental portable radar set to gauge exactly how fast Arctic ice sheets are melting, they said on Thursday.
www.planetark.org: Team Will Use Radar To Measure Thinning Arctic Ice
Russia Unveils Aggressive Arctic Plans
Berlin, January 29 2009 -
In a new national directive, Russia has asserted claims on large sections of the Arctic Ocean. The tone of the document is openly aggressive, prompting fears of increasing international tension over who has the right to exploit the mineral-rich territory.
www.spiegel.de: Russia Unveils Aggressive Arctic Plans
Glacier and Ice-Sheet Melting, Sea-Ice Retreat and Coastal Erosion Expected as a Result
Reston (VA) January 16 / 22 2009 -
Temperature change in the Arctic is happening at a greater rate than other places in the Northern Hemisphere, and this is expected to continue in the future.
As a result, glacier and ice-sheet melting, sea-ice retreat, coastal erosion and sea level rise can be expected to continue.
A new comprehensive scientific synthesis of past Arctic climates demonstrates for the first time the pervasive nature of Arctic climate amplification.
www.usgs.gov: Glacier and Ice-Sheet Melting, Sea-Ice Retreat and Coastal Erosion Expected as a Result
www.precaution.org: Climate warming 'highly unusual' says new study
Has the Arctic melt passed the point of no return?
Arctic Sea Ice (Photo: www.iodp.de)
London, 16/17 December 2008 -
Scientists have found the first unequivocal evidence that the Arctic region is warming at a faster rate than the rest of the world at least a decade before it was predicted to happen.
Climate-change researchers have found that air temperatures in the region are higher than would be normally expected during the autumn because the increased melting of the summer Arctic sea ice is accumulating heat in the ocean. The phenomenon, known as Arctic amplification, was not expected to be seen for at least another 10 or 15 years and the findings will further raise concerns that the Arctic has already passed the climatic tipping-point towards ice-free summers, beyond which it may not recover.
> www.independent.co.uk:
Has the Arctic melt passed the point of no return? (Dec-16)
> www.independent.co.uk / Mark Serreze: Impact of melt may extend beyond the pole (Dec-16)
> climateprogress.org / NSIDC: Arctic melt passes the point of no return, “We hate to say we told you so, but we did” (Dec-16)
> www.usatoday.com: The big melt: 2 trillion tons of ice since 2003 (Dec-16)
> www.reuters.com: Arctic ice volume lowest ever as globe warms: U.N. (Dec-16)
> news.bbc.co.uk: Changes 'amplify Arctic warming' (Dec-17)
Arctic Warming Threatens Future Of The Planet
Washington DC, December 16, 2008 –
A report issued by the U.S. government today shows that rising temperatures in the Arctic could have disastrous impacts on the rest of the planet beyond what had previously been projected, reinforcing the urgency for a new global climate treaty, said officials with World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Arctic Warming Threatens Future Of The Planet
More about the report by the US Government on Abrupt Climate Change
Point of No Return for the Arctic Climate?
Berlin, December 4 2008 -
Temperatures in the Arctic are rising much faster than elsewhere in the world. Researchers now say it may be the result of a dramatic shift in global climate patterns. If they are right, ice at the North Pole may soon be a thing of the past.
www.spiegel.de: Point of No Return for the Arctic Climate?
Will the Opening of the Northwest Passage Transform Global Shipping Anytime Soon?
Washington, November 11 2008 -
With the melting of Arctic Ocean ice, the fabled waterway between Europe and Asia has been open to shipping the past two summers--or has it?
www.sciam.com: Will the Opening of the Northwest Passage Transform Global Shipping Anytime Soon?
www.sciam.com: The future of the poles
Arctic ice thickness 'plummets'
London, October 28 2008 -
The thickness of Arctic sea ice "plummeted" last winter, thinning by as much as one-fifth in some regions, satellite data has revealed.
news.bbc.co.uk: Arctic ice thickness 'plummets'
Arctic air temperatures climb to record levels
Washington, October 16 2008 -
Fall air temperatures have climbed to record levels in the Arctic due to major losses of sea ice as the region suffers more effects from a warming trend dating back decades, a report released on Thursday showed.
The annual report issued by researchers at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other experts is the latest to paint a dire picture of the impact of climate change in the Arctic.
Researchers took a close look at the Arctic's atmosphere, biology, land, ocean, and sea ice and concluded that "There continues to be widespread and, in some cases, dramatic evidence of an overall warming of the Arctic system."
This year's summer sea-ice melt was the second-meltiest on record, and Greenland's ice sheet lost some 24 cubic miles of ice, giving it the dubious honor of being one of the largest single contributors to global sea level rise.
Impacts on Arctic wildlife were mixed since some species, like geese, adapted better to the ecosystem changes and expanded their range. However, caribou and walrus populations, among others, seemed to be negatively affected.
The Arctic warming trend also increased green-plant cover in the region as some plants moved farther north into areas that used to be permafrost. "These are dynamic and dramatic times in the Arctic," said researcher Jackie Richter-Menge. "The outlook isn't good."
(Several sources)
www.reuters.com: Arctic air temperatures climb to record levels
www.noaanews.noaa.gov: Annual Arctic Report Card Shows Stronger Effects of Warming
gristmill.grist.org: Impermafrost
NASA data show Arctic saw fastest August sea ice retreat on record
Boulder (Col/USA), September 28 2008 -
Following a record-breaking season of arctic sea ice decline in 2007, NASA scientists have kept a close watch on the 2008 melt season. Although the melt season did not break the record for ice loss, NASA data are showing that for a four-week period in August 2008, sea ice melted faster during that period than ever before.
www.physorg.com: NASA data show Arctic saw fastest August sea ice retreat on record
Arctic Sea Ice Reaches Annual Minimum
Boulder (Col/USA), September 17 2008 -
The arrival of Northern Hemisphere autumn signals the end of the seasonal retreat of Arctic sea ice. Polar scientists from the National Snow and Ice Data Center report that sea ice appeared to hit its lowest extent on September 14, 2008, when the area at least 15 percent covered by ice dropped to 4.52 million square kilometers (1.74 million square miles). The 2008 minimum is the second-lowest recorded since 1979, or 2.24 million square kilometers (0.86 million square miles) below normal (1979–2000).
earthobservatory.nasa.gov: Arctic Sea Ice Reaches Annual Minimum (New images)
Arctic sea ice reaches lowest extent in 2008, second lowest ever recorded
Boulder (Col/USA), September 16 2008 -
The Arctic sea ice cover appears to have reached its minimum extent for the year, the second-lowest extent recorded since satellite record-keeping began in 1979, according to the University of Colorado at Boulder's National Snow and Ice Data Center, or NSIDC.
nsidc.org: Sea Ice Index: Last month's sea ice conditions/Most recent daily sea ice conditions
nsidc.org: Timeseries Arctic Melt
Lowest ever sea ice in Arctic
Washington, October 16 2008 -
Declining ice thickness and what is looking like the second lowest coverage on record means that Arctic sea ice may well have reached its lowest levels ever in terms of total volume.
www.enn.com: Lowest ever sea ice in Arctic
The village at the tip of the iceberg
London (UK) September 28 2008 -
For more than 2,000 years the Yup'ik Eskimos have carved out a subsistence living on the frozen wastes of southwest Alaska. But now the ice is melting the village is having to move to a new site, and the world's first climate-change refugees face an uncertain future.
www.guardian.co.uk: The village at the tip of the iceberg
WWF: Melting Arctic adds urgency to climate deal
Oslo, September 15 2008 -
Data showing Arctic sea ice may reach its lowest level on record this summer underscores the need for governments to speed up talks on a new climate pact, the Worldwide Fund for Nature said.
www.physorg.com / WWF: Melting Arctic adds urgency to climate deal
www.panda.org: Lowest ever sea ice in the Arctic
environment.newscientist.com: Melting ice caps could suck carbon from atmosphere
Melting ice cap pushes Arctic up EU agenda
Brussel, September 10 2008 -
The rapid melting of the polar ice cap in the Arctic offers Europe a "first-time opportunity" to access new trade routes and massive oil and gas deposits, the European Commission has said - developments that are pushing the EU's polar strategy up the policy agenda.
euobserver.com: Melting ice cap pushes Arctic up EU agenda
Canada's arctic ice shelf has 'massively' shrunk
Montreal, September 4 2008 -
The ice shelves in Canada's northern Arctic have shrunk at a "massive and disturbing" rate, with huge tracts breaking off and floating away, say scientists.
In what researchers say is the latest evidence of accelerating climate change, 83 square miles of ice attached to Ellesmere Island – more than three times the area of Manhattan island - have broken away this summer.
www.telegraph.co.uk: Canada's arctic ice shelf has 'massively' shrunk
www.physorg.com: Canada's Arctic ice shelves break apart, drift away
earthobservatory.nasa.gov: Ice Shelves Retreat on Ellesmere Island (Images)
www.planetark.com: Arctic Melting Shows Global Warming Serious
Arctic Ice Second-Lowest Ever
www.esa.int: Arctic ice on the verge of another all-time low
Washington, August 28/31 2008 -
Arctic sea ice shrank to its second-lowest level ever, US scientists said on Wednesday, with particular melting in the Chukchi Sea, where polar bears were recently seen swimming far off the Alaskan coast.
Researchers say the Arctic is now at a climatic "tipping point". "We could very well be in that quick slide downwards in terms of passing a tipping point," said Mark Serreze, a senior scientist at the Colorado-based NSIDC.
"It's tipping now. We're seeing it happen now," he told the Associated Press news agency.
www.grist.org: Arctic ice in a 'death spiral' as it hits second-lowest point ever
www.planetark.com: Arctic Ice Second-Lowest Ever; Polar Bears Affected
ap.google.com: Arctic sea ice drops to 2nd lowest level on record
www.sciam.com: Fabled Northwest Passage open for business in the Arctic
www.telegraph.co.uk: Arctic becomes an island as ice melts
afp.google.com: North Pole ice cap melting faster than ever
news.bbc.co.uk: Arctic ice 'is at tipping point'
www.enn.com: Arctic ice on the verge of another all-time low
www.esa.int: Arctic ice on the verge of another all-time low
www.time.com: Arctic Sea Ice Nears Record Low
Daily updates on the ice conditions:
nsidc.org: Sea Ice Index: Last month's sea ice conditions/Most recent daily sea ice conditions
nsidc.org: Timeseries Arctic Melt
Polar bear sightings stir climate debate
Anchorage, (Alaska) August 22 2008 -
Federal wildlife monitors spotted nine polar bears in one day swimming in open ocean off Alaska's northwest coast, and environmental groups say the event is a strong signal that diminished sea ice brought on by warming has put U.S. bears at risk of drowning or dying from effects of fatigue.
www.latimes.com: Polar bear sightings stir climate debate
www.nytimes.com: 10 Polar Bears Are Seen Swimming in Open Water
Create a global authority for Arctic oil and gas
August 14 2008 -
Whatever happens with the development of alternative fuels, and however much we economise on using energy, the world will be reliant on oil, gas and coal for decades. The challenge of developing conventional energy sources in an environmentally sustainable way is one of the most critical we face. We therefore need to create an institution imbued with sovereign powers to develop the massive fuel sources in the Arctic Circle. It would be a far-reaching step, but the stakes warrant a special attempt to take it.
www.ft.com: Create a global authority for Arctic oil and gas
U.S. scouts out territory in Arctic; ice-cover loss could be worst ever
Anchorage (Alaska), August 14, 2008 - (grist.org) -
U.S. scientists will head to the Arctic this week on a quest to map the ocean floor, and will collaborate with Canada on a surveying trip in September. The two nations -- and their Arctic-bordering compatriots Russia, Denmark, and Norway -- are scrambling to measure their respective continental shelves, with an eye to claiming as much as they can of the estimated 90 billion barrels of oil that could potentially become accessible if the Arctic gets melty enough.
So how's the northern region doing these days? "We thought Arctic ice cover might recover after last year's unprecedented melting," says Mark Serreze of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, but, "it now looks as if it will be a very close call indeed whether 2007 or 2008 is the worst year on record for ice cover over the Arctic." Such conditions are, notes oceanographer Larry Mayer, "bad for the Arctic, but very, very good for mapping."
www.reuters.com: U.S. ship heads for Arctic to define territory
www.sfgate.com: Rush to Arctic as warming opens oil deposits
afp.google.com: Canada, US team up in key Arctic study
www.canada.com: Arctic meltdown could set new record
Meltdown in the Arctic is speeding up
Anchorage (Alaska), August 10, 2008 -
Ice at the North Pole melted at an unprecedented rate last week, with leading scientists warning that the Arctic could be ice-free in summer by 2013.
Satellite images show that ice caps started to disintegrate dramatically several days ago as storms over Alaska's Beaufort Sea began sucking streams of warm air into the Arctic.
www.guardian.co.uk: Meltdown in the Arctic is speeding up
nsidc.org: Sea Ice Index: Last month's sea ice conditions/Most recent daily sea ice conditions
nsidc.org: Timeseries Arctic Melt
Global warming has its own language. For our children's sake, we have to start speaking it
Kangia Glacier, August 10, 2008 -
Sometimes you just wish you were a photographer. I simply do not have the words to describe the awesome majesty of Greenland's Kangia glacier, shedding massive icebergs the size of skyscrapers and slowly pushing them down the Ilulissat fjord until they crash into the ocean off the island's west coast. There, these natural ice sculptures float and bob around the glassy waters near here. You can sail between them in a fishing boat, listening to these white ice monsters crackle and break, heave and sigh, as if they were noisily protesting their fate.
www.guardian.co.uk: Global warming has its own language. For our children's sake, we have to start speaking it
For second year in a row, melt may open Northwest Passage
Anchorage (Alaska), August 4, 2008 -
Alaska's warm weather this summer has all "gone north." Way north. Scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center say strong, southerly winds from the North Slope have devoured a huge swath of Arctic ice larger than the state of Texas in the heart of the Beaufort Sea.
www.enn.com: For second year in a row, melt may open Northwest Passage
Arctic Ice Bigger Than 2007, But Thawing Long-Term
Oslo, July 31, 2008 -
Arctic sea ice is unlikely to shrink below a 2007 record low this year in a reprieve from the worst predictions of climate change even though new evidence confirms a long-term thaw is under way, experts said.
www.planetark.org: Arctic Ice Bigger Than 2007, But Thawing Long-Term
Polar scientists reveal dramatic new evidence of climate change
London, June 27/30, 2008 -
It seems unthinkable, but for the first time in human history, ice is on course to disappear entirely from the North Pole this year.
The disappearance of the Arctic sea ice, making it possible to reach the Pole sailing in a boat through open water, would be one of the most dramatic – and worrying – examples of the impact of global warming on the planet. Scientists say the ice at 90 degrees north may well have melted away by the summer.
www.independent.co.uk: No ice at the North Pole
www.independent.co.uk / Peter Wadhams: Every time I visit the Arctic, the ice gets thinner
North Pole Notes: Arctic sea ice still on track for extreme melt
London, June 21, 2008 - (by Realclimate / Gavin Schmidt) -
I always find it interesting as to why some stories get traction in the mainstream media and why some don't. In online science discussions, the fate of this years summer sea ice has been the focus of a significant betting pool, a test of expert prediction skills, and a week-by-week (almost) running commentary. However, none of these efforts made it on to the Today program. Instead, a rather casual article in the Independent showed the latest thickness data and that quoted Mark Serreze as saying that the area around the North Pole had 50/50 odds of being completely ice free this summer, has taken off across the media.
www.realclimate.org: North Pole notes
nsidc.org: Arctic sea ice still on track for extreme melt
Greenland Summit To Discuss Carve-Up Of Arctic
Copenhagen, May 27 / 29 , 2008 - Officials from five Arctic coastal countries will meet in Greenland this week to discuss how to carve up the Arctic Ocean, which could hold up to one-quarter of the world's undiscovered oil and gas reserves.
www.planetark.com: Greenland Summit To Discuss Carve-Up Of Arctic
www.planetark.com: Arctic Claimants Say They Will Obey UN Rules
Vast cracks appear in Arctic ice
London / Montreal, May 23 2008 -
Dramatic evidence of the break-up of the Arctic ice-cap has emerged from research during an expedition by the Canadian military.
news.bbc.co.uk: Vast cracks appear in Arctic ice
Japan scientists warn Arctic ice melting fast
Tokyo, May 12 2008 - Arctic ice is melting fast and the area covered by ice sheets in ocean could shrink this summer to the smallest since 1978 when satellite observation first started, Japanese scientists warned in a report.
www.enn.com: Arctic sea ice forecast: another record low in 2008
Arctic sea ice forecast: another record low in 2008
Boulder (Col / USA) May 1, 2008 -
Arctic sea ice, sometimes billed as Earth's air conditioner for its moderating effects on world climate, will probably shrink to a record low level this year, scientists predicted on Wednesday.
In releasing the forecast, climate researcher Sheldon Drobot of the University of Colorado at Boulder called the changes in Arctic sea ice "one of the more compelling and obvious signs of climate change."
www.reuters.com: Arctic sea ice forecast: another record low in 2008
North Pole could be ice free in 2008
Washington, April 25, 2008 -
You know when climate change is biting hard when instead of a vast expanse of snow the North Pole is a vast expanse of water. This year, for the first time, Arctic scientists are preparing for that possibility.
www.newscientist.com: North Pole could be ice free in 2008
nsidc.org: Sea ice in 2008
Arctic Getting "Wetter" Due to Human-Driven Warming
April 25, 2008 -
In addition to heating up faster than almost anywhere else on the planet, the Arctic has gotten wetter and snowier because of global warming, according to a new study.
The extra precipitation could freshen ocean water in the Arctic and North Atlantic, researchers say, which might disrupt the so-called ocean conveyor belt, a current that runs through the Atlantic and carries warm water northward from the Equator.
news.nationalgeographic.com: Arctic Getting "Wetter" Due to Human-Driven Warming
Wetter Arctic may lead to colder winters
Londen, April 24 2008 -
The Arctic is becoming a damper place as a result of burning fossil fuels, an effect that could send shockwaves through the global climate system, making British winters substantially colder.
www.telegraph.co.uk: PWetter Arctic may lead to colder winters
Arctic ice seen melting faster than anticipated
Geneva, April 23, 2008 - Arctic ice may be melting faster than most climate change science has concluded, the conservation group WWF said in a report.
It found that ice in Greenland and across the Arctic region was retreating "at rates significantly faster than predicted in previous expert assessments".
The Greenland Ice Sheet - with an ice volume of about 2.9 million cubic kilometers - is shrinking at a fast pace and "could contribute much more than previously estimated to global sea-level rise during the 21st century," the WWF said.
www.bbc.co.uk: Arctic ice seen melting faster than anticipated
www.telegraph.co.uk: Arctic ice melting 'faster than predicted'
www.panda.org: Climate change hitting the Arctic faster and harder
Arctic losing long-term ice cover
London / Washington, March 18 2008 -
The Arctic is losing its old, thick ice faster than in previous years, according to satellite data.
The loss has continued since the end of the Arctic summer, despite cold weather across the northern hemisphere.
www.bbc.co.uk: Arctic losing long-term ice cover
earthobservatory.nasa.gov: Arctic Sea Ice Younger than Normal
nsidc.org: Arctic Sea Ice News (8,2 mb)
Could Arctic ice melt spawn new kind of cold war?
Washington, March 9 2008 - With oil above $100 a barrel and Arctic ice melting faster than ever, some of the world's most powerful countries -- including the United States and Russia -- are looking north to a possible energy bonanza.
www.reuters.com: Could Arctic ice melt spawn new kind of cold war?
www.guardian.co.uk: Climate change may spark conflict with Russia, EU told
Arctic Oil Bonanza Worries Alaska Natives
Anchorage, February 26, 2008 -
Modern technology and surging oil prices have suddenly made the prospect of drilling in the remote, icy Chukchi Sea irresistible to the world's oil giants -- and that is worrying the Inupiat people who have lived at the sea's edge for centuries.
www.planetark.com: Arctic Oil Bonanza Worries Alaska Natives
Arctic seed vault opens doors for 100 million seeds
Longyearbyen, Svalbard/Norway, February 26, 2008 — The Svalbard Global Seed Vault opened today on a remote island in the Arctic Circle, receiving inaugural shipments of 100 million seeds that originated in over 100 countries. With the deposits ranging from unique varieties of major African and Asian food staples such as maize, rice, wheat, cowpea, and sorghum to European and South American varieties of eggplant, lettuce, barley, and potato, the first deposits into the seed vault represent the most comprehensive and diverse collection of food crop seeds being held anywhere in the world.
www.enn.com: Arctic seed vault opens doors for 100 million seeds
Bush budget calls for Arctic oil drilling in 2010
Washington, February 5, 2008 -
The Bush administration on Monday again asked Congress to allow oil and natural gas drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, saying $7 billion could be raised in leasing fees from energy companies.
www.enn.com: Bush budget calls for Arctic oil drilling in 2010
Arctic ice-cap loss twice the size of France
Paris, (Fr), January 25, 2008 -
The Arctic ice cap has shrunk by an area twice the size of France's land mass over the last two years, the Paris-based National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) said Wednesday. "The year 2008 promises to be a critical year on every level," said Jean-Claude Gascard, the body's research director and coordinator of European scientific mission Damocles, which is monitoring the effects of climate change across the Arctic.
www.reuters.com: Arctic ice-cap loss twice the size of France
Older Arctic Sea Ice Replaced By Young, Thin Ice
Boulder (Col/US), January 13, 2008 -
A new study by University of Colorado at Boulder researchers indicates older, multi-year sea ice in the Arctic is giving way to younger, thinner ice, making it more susceptible to record summer sea-ice lows like the one that occurred in 2007.
www.sciencedaily.com: Older Arctic Sea Ice Replaced By Young, Thin Ice
Glaciers grew even when alligators lived in Arctic
Oslo, January 10, 2008 - Giant glaciers formed about 90 million years ago when alligators thrived in the Arctic, overturning the belief that all ice melts in a "super greenhouse" climate, researchers said on Thursday.
www.reuters.com: Glaciers grew even when alligators lived in Arctic
Arctic ice melt Canada's top weather concern in 2007
Montreal, December 27, 2007 -
The "shocking" record loss of Arctic sea ice was Canada's top weather event in 2007, Canada's environment ministry said Thursday.
www.terradaily.com: Arctic ice melt Canada's top weather concern in 2007
McCall glacier melt links the Arctic eras
London / Anchorage, December 25, 2007 -
"Sometimes you'd just land and set up your equipment," recalls Carl Benson, "and the pilot sees clouds rolling in and says 'I'd better get out of here, do you want to come with me or do you want to stay'?
"So you push the 'plane round so they can take off, and you don't know when you're going to see them again."
Dr Benson is one of a band of scientists hardier than most who have spent decades working to understand the finer workings of glaciers.
news.bbc.co.uk: McCall glacier melt links the Arctic eras
Russians wake up on Svalbard
Lenin in Barentsburg
Barentsburg (SVA), December 17, 2007 -
Russia is beefing up its presence on Svalbard, another sign that Moscow wants its presence felt in strategic Arctic areas.
www.aftenposten.no: Russians wake up on Svalbard
Notes from The Gathering #5: Arctic sea ice: is it tipped yet?
San Francisco, December 14, 2007 -
The summer of 2007 was apocalyptic for Arctic sea ice. The coverage and thickness of sea ice in the Arctic has been declining steadily over the past few decades, but this year the ice lost an area about the size of Texas, reaching its minimum on about the 16th of September. Arctic sea ice seems to me the best and more imminent example of a tipping point in the climate system. A series of talks aimed to explain the reason for the meltdown.
www.realclimate.org: Arctic sea ice: is it tipped yet?
The Big Melt: Arctic sets records on all fronts
North-West passage fully open
San Francisco, December 14, 2007 -
Scientists have detailed what was an extraordinary melting season in the Arctic during the summer of 2007.
The record withdrawal of sea ice has been well documented, but the region also hit a number of other firsts.
Some ocean temperature measurements were unprecedented, and 2007 also set a new record for melting snow over the Greenland ice sheet.
www.bbc.co.uk: Arctic sets records on all fronts
www.oc.nps.navy.mil: Naval Arctic Nodelling Effort
www.oc.nps.navy.mil / Wieslaw Maslowski: Toward Prediction of Environmental Arctic Change (pdf 4 mb)
Without its insulating ice cap, Arctic surface waters warm to as much as 5 C above average
San Francisco, December 12, 2007 -
Record-breaking amounts of ice-free water have deprived the Arctic of more of its natural "sunscreen" than ever in recent summers. The effect is so pronounced that sea surface temperatures rose to 5 C above 'normal'.
www.physorg.com: Without its insulating ice cap, Arctic surface waters warm to as much as 5 C above average
Arctic summers ice-free 'by 2013'
San Francisco, December 12, 2007 -
Scientists in the US have presented one of the most dramatic forecasts yet for the disappearance of Arctic sea ice.
Their latest modelling studies indicate northern polar waters could be ice-free in summers within just 5-6 years.
news.bbc.co.uk: Arctic summers ice-free 'by 2013'
www.telegraph.co.uk: Arctic ice 'could be gone in five years'
Scientists: 'Arctic Is Screaming,' Global Warming May Have Passed Tipping Point
Washington, December 12, 2007 -
An already relentless melting of the Arctic greatly accelerated this summer, a warning sign that some scientists worry could mean global warming has passed an ominous tipping point. One even speculated that summer sea ice would be gone in five years.
www.foxnews.com: Scientists: 'Arctic Is Screaming,' Global Warming May Have Passed Tipping Point
Norway's Arctic islands at their hottest since Viking era: scientists
Oslo, December 11, 2007 -
Norway's Arctic archipelago of Svalbard recently experienced its highest temperatures since the end of the Viking Age around 800 years ago, the Norwegian Polar Institute said Tuesday. Analysis of ice taken from Lomonosovfonna, one of the highest glaciers on Svalbard, confirms that recent local temperatures have been at their highest since the 13th century, the institute said in a statement.
www.terradaily.com: Norway's Arctic islands at their hottest since Viking era: scientists
The melting Arctic
London, November 20, 2007 -
A new exhibition of Arctic photography by Louise Murray draws attention to the plight of the polar ice cap and its inhabitants.
travel.timesonline.co.uk: The melting Arctic
www.louisemurray.com
Changing severe weather in the Arctic
Bergen, November 7 2007 -
How will global warming influence severe weather in Arctic regions? A new study published in Climate Dynamics by Bjerknes Centre researcher Erik Kolstad and Tom Bracegirdle of British Antarctic Survey makes use of IPPC climate model data to answer this question.
Arctic weather has many faces. While the ice sheet surrounding the North Pole is frequently calm and cloudy, the warm regions with open ocean experience severe weather such as explosive mid-latitude storms, polar lows, arctic fronts and roll clouds.
www.bjerknes.uib.no: Changing severe weather in the Arctic
www.springerlink.com:Marine cold-air outbreaks in the future: an assessment of IPCC AR4 model results for the Northern Hemisphere
Nordic nations sound alarm over melting Arctic
Oslo, October 31, 2007 - Nordic nations sounded the alarm on Wednesday about a quickening melt of Arctic ice and said the thaw might soon prove irreversible because of global warming.
Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Iceland also urged all governments to agree before the end of 2009 a broader U.N. plan to curb greenhouse gases in succession to the Kyoto Protocol.
uk.reuters.com: Nordic nations sound alarm over melting Arctic
Less Arctic ice means higher risks, experts warn
Washington, October 26 2007 -
The International Ice Charting Working Group predicts more marine transportation in the Arctic as sea ice continues to diminish and warns of "significant hazards to navigation," according to a statement released yesterday.
www.esa.int: Less Arctic ice means higher risks, experts warn
At the Poles, Melting Occurring at Alarming Rate
Washington, October 22 2007 -
For scientists, global warming is a disaster movie, its opening scenes set at the poles of Earth. The epic already has started. And it's not fiction.
The scenes are playing, at the start, in slow motion: The relentless grip of the Arctic Ocean that defied man for centuries is melting away. The sea ice reaches only half as far as it did 50 years ago. In the summer of 2006, it shrank to a record low; this summer the ice pulled back even more, by an area nearly the size of Alaska. Where explorer Robert Peary just 102 years ago saw "a great white disk stretching away apparently infinitely" from Ellesmere Island, there is often nothing now but open water. Glaciers race into the sea from the island of Greenland, beginning an inevitable rise in the oceans.
www.washingtonpost.com: At the Poles, Melting Occurring at Alarming Rate
www.washingtonpost.com: In the Greenhouse, Confronting a Changing Climate
www.washingtonpost.com: The Threat of Climate Change
'Warm wind' hits Arctic climate
Washington, October 17, 2007 -
The Arctic is being hit by melting ice, hotter air and dying wildlife, according to a US government report on the impact of global warming there.
A new wind circulation pattern is blowing more warm air towards the North Pole than in the 20th Century, scientists found.
Shrubs are now growing in tundra areas while caribou herds are dwindling in Canada and parts of Alaska.
The report stresses that the fate of the Arctic affects the entire planet.
news.bbc.co.uk: 'Warm wind' hits Arctic climate
Bleak U.S. "report card" finds warming Arctic
Washington, October 17, 2007 -
A bleak "report card" on global warming's Arctic impact released on Wednesday found less ice, hotter air and dying wildlife, and stressed that what happens around the North Pole affects the entire planet.
www.reuters.com: Bleak U.S. "report card" finds warming Arctict
Arctic ‘Report Card’ Shows Continued Climate Changes
Washington, October 17, 2007 -
The first update of a report tracking the state of the Arctic indicates that some changes in that region are larger and occurring faster than those previously predicted by climate models, while other indicators show some stabilizing. The “Report Card” was issued today by an international team of scientists, including a NOAA lead author.
www.noaanews.noaa.gov: Arctic ‘Report Card’ Shows Continued Climate Changes
www.arctic.noaa.gov/reportcard/: Arctic Report Card 2007
Ice melt raises passage tension
Montreal, October 8 2007 -
Less ice makes it easier to get at the Arctic's resources. In another sign of potential friction in the warming Arctic, Canada has warned that it will step up patrols of the North West Passage.
news.bbc.co.uk: Ice melt raises passage tension
Melting Ice Pack Displaces Alaska Walrus
Ancorage, (Alaska) October 8 2007 - (ap) - Thousands of walrus have appeared on Alaska's northwest coast in what conservationists are calling a dramatic consequence of global warming melting the Arctic sea ice.
www.physorg.com: Melting Ice Pack Displaces Alaska Walrus
Record 22C temperatures in Arctic heatwave
London, October 3 -
Parts of the Arctic have experienced an unprecedented heatwave this summer, with one research station in the Canadian High Arctic recording temperatures above 20C, about 15C higher than the long-term average. The high temperatures were accompanied by a dramatic melting of Arctic sea ice in September to the lowest levels ever recorded, a further indication of how sensitive this region of the world is to global warming. Scientists from Queen's University in Ontario watched with amazement as their thermometers touched 22C during their July field expedition at the High Arctic camp on Melville Island, usually one of the coldest places in North America.
environment.independent.co.uk: Record 22C temperatures in Arctic heatwave
09252007: Arctic heat wave stuns climate change researchers
Arctic melt threatens indigenous people
London, October 2 - A "grab for the Arctic" will add strains to indigenous hunters' cultures as a record melt opens the icy region to shipping or oil and gas exploration, an Inuit activist said on Tuesday.
www.reuters.com: Arctic melt threatens indigenous people
Arctic ice retreats into uncharted territory
Scientists see dramatic drop in Arctic sea ice / Arctic sea ice shatters record low
Click on image for instant animation of 2007 sea ice decline. The picture displays record minimum sea ice extent of September 14 2007.
Colorado (USA), October 1 2007, -
Arctic sea ice during the 2007 melt season plummeted to the lowest levels since satellite measurements began in 1979, according to researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder's National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).
The average sea ice extent for the month of September was 4.28 million square kilometers (1.65 million square miles), the lowest September on record, shattering the previous record for the month, set in 2005, by 23 percent.
A new NASA-led study found a 23-percent loss in the extent of the Arctic's thick, year-round sea ice cover during the past two winters. This drastic reduction of perennial winter sea ice is the primary cause of this summer's fastest-ever sea ice retreat on record and subsequent smallest-ever extent of total Arctic coverage.
NASA has created new images in support of these and other reports about the remarkable decrease in sea ice this summer. Still images and video are available now for download in high-definition broadcast quality.
Animation: Arctic Sea Ice Minimum, 1979-2007
Animation: A closer look at Arctic sea ice from space in high resolution
Animation: Ice albedo feedback animation
nsidc.org: Arctic sea ice shatters record low (Data incl graphics)
www.nasa.gov: NASA Examines Arctic Sea Ice Changes Leading to Record Low in 2007
www.eurekalert.org: Arctic sea ice shatters record low
www.reuters.com: Scientists see dramatic drop in Arctic sea ice
www.ipy.org: Sea ice
www.terradaily.com: Cold War over North Pole, and other Polar news
Arctic ice island breaks in half
Anchorage, (Alaska) October 1, 2007 -
The giant Ayles Ice Island drifting off Canada's northern shores has broken in two - far earlier than expected.
In a season of record summer melting in the region, the two chunks have moved rapidly through the water - one of them covering 98km (61 miles) in a week.
news.bbc.co.uk: Arctic ice island breaks in half
Arctic thaw may be at "tipping point"
Oslo / London, September 28, 2007 - A record melt of Arctic summer sea ice this month may be a sign that global warming is reaching a critical trigger point that could accelerate the northern thaw, some scientists say.
"The reason so much (of the Arctic ice) went suddenly is that it is hitting a tipping point that we have been warning about for the past few years," James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, told Reuters.
The Arctic summer sea ice shrank by more than 20 percent below the previous 2005 record low in mid-September to 4.13 million sq km (1.6 million sq miles), according to a 30-year satellite record.
Some climate tipping points may already have been passed, and others may be closer than we thought, say UK-scientists. Runaway loss of Arctic sea ice may now be inevitable. Even more worrying, and very likely, is the collapse of the giant Greenland ice sheet. So said Tim Lenton of the University of East Anglia, speaking at a meeting in August on complexity in nature, organised by the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge.
Lenton warned the meeting that global warming might trigger tipping points that could cause runaway warming or catastrophic sea-level rise. The risks are far greater than suggested in the current IPCC report, he says.
Yet climate modellers are in a quandary. As models get better and forecasts more alarming, their confidence in the detail of their predictions is evaporating.
www.reuters.com: Arctic thaw may be at "tipping point"
Hansens Earlier warnings:
Hansen: On a slippery slope to hell... or how much global warming constitutes "Dangerous anthropogenic interference" (giss/nasa pdf)
See the earlier report "The consensus on Climate Change / Hansen’s 1988 projections (Read all...)
About Tipping Points:
Timothy Lenton: Tipping Points in the Earth system
Jim Hansen: The Tipping Point
'Remarkable' drop in arctic sea ice raises questions
Because of the changining albedo the north is warming up rapidly after sea ice loss. Click on the picture for instant animation.
September 25, 2007 -
Melting Arctic sea ice has shrunk to a 29-year low, significantly below the minimum set in 2005, according to preliminary figures from the National Snow and Ice Data Center, part of the University of Colorado at Boulder. NASA scientists, who have been observing the declining Arctic sea ice cover since the earliest measurements in 1979, are working to understand this sudden speed-up of sea ice decline and what it means for the future of Earth's northern polar region.
www.nasa.gov: 'Remarkable' drop in arctic sea ice raises questions
Arctic heat wave stuns climate change researchers
September 25, 2007 -
Unprecedented warm temperatures in the High Arctic this past summer were so extreme that researchers with a Queen’s University-led climate change project have begun revising their forecasts.
“Everything has changed dramatically in the watershed we observed,” reports Geography professor Scott Lamoureux, the leader of an International Polar Year project announced yesterday in Nunavut by Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl. “It’s something we’d envisioned for the future – but to see it happening now is quite remarkable.”
qnc.queensu.ca: Arctic heat wave stuns climate change researchers
Extent of sea ice in Arctic sets record low
The MODIS on the Terra satellite captured this image of a section of the Northwest Passage, located between Candada and Greenland, on September 15, 2007. The Northwest Passage is a sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans - it threads through the Arctic Ocean and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, along the northern coast of North America. ( Photo: Modis)
London / New York, September, September 21/23 2007 -
The extent of sea ice in the Arctic has already hit a record low this season, the gloomiest, if not doomiest, since satellite records began in the 1970s.
The world will likely have to wait a month or so for the final numbers to be released since sea ice typically stops melting by the end of September, but researchers are already worried by the extra 380,000 square miles or so of sea ice that's melted this year beyond the record set in 2005.
"I'm shocked daily, looking at the maps," said Marika Holland, sea-ice researcher at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research, earlier this month.
"Where it's going to bottom out, I wouldn't hazard a guess." And much of the ice that's left is roughly half as thick as it was in 2001, according to a recent German study.
If that's not enough, the European Space Agency has said that Arctic melting this year has also entirely opened up the fabled Northwest Passage, a shipping shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans that has until now been "historically impassable." (http://gristmill.grist.org/)
www.guardian.co.uk: Disappearing Melting Ice Cap in 12 pictures
www.bbc.co.uk: Ice withdrawal 'shatters record'
www.nature.com: Arctic sea ice at record low
www.planetark.com: Arctic Summer Ice Thickness Halves to 1 Metre
news.bbc.co.uk: Extent of sea ice in Arctic sets record low, keeps on melting
www.sciam.com: The North Pole Is Melting
September 14: Satellites witness lowest Arctic ice coverage in history
Sea Ice Observations
Fairbanks, Alaska, September 17, 2007 -
Two IARC scientists have sailed on recent missions over the northern seas, each experiencing different aspects of waters that seem to be warming. The summer of 2007 has set a new satellite-era (since 1979) record for the smallest amount of ice covering the Arctic Ocean.
www.iarc.uaf.edu: Unusually thin, rotten ice....
Satellites witness lowest Arctic ice coverage in history
Bruxelles, September 14/17, 2007 -
The area covered by sea ice in the Arctic has shrunk to its lowest level this week since satellite measurements began nearly 30 years ago, opening up the Northwest Passage -- a long-sought short cut between Europe and Asia that has been historically impassable.
Rising sea-surface temperatures in the Barents Sea, northeast of Scandinavia, are the prime cause of the retreating winter ice edge over the past 26 years, according to research by Jennifer Francis, associate research professor at Rutgers' Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences. The recent decreases in winter ice cover is clear evidence that Arctic pack ice will continue on its trajectory of rapid decline, Francis said.
www.esa.int: Satellites witness lowest Arctic ice coverage in history
nsidc.org: Arctic Sea Ice News Fall 2007
www.physorg.com: Arctic Ice Melt Opens Northwest Passage
www.enn.com: Arctic Ocean Sea-ice Getting Thinner
Arctic ice retreating more quickly than computer models project
The appalling fate of the polar bear, symbol of the Arctic
London, September 9 2007 -
It has been declared at risk by conservation groups. Yet rich Westerners are paying thousands of dollars for the privilege of shooting an animal whose very existence is already threatened by environmental disaster.
independent.co.uk: The appalling fate of the polar bear, symbol of the Arctic
www.cnn.com: Scientists: Dramatic sea ice loss by 2050
news.bbc.co.uk: US predicts polar bear meltdown
www.sciencedaily.com: Report: Greenland ice change means trouble
independent.co.uk: Protect the polar bear, save the planet
Arctic regional sea ice to decline 40 percent before 2050
Washington, September 6 2007 -
A new study by NOAA scientists shows that areal sea-ice coverage of the Arctic Ocean will decline by more than 40 percent before the summer of 2050, compared to a 1979-1999 base period.
www.noaanews.noaa.gov: Arctic regional sea ice to decline 40 percent before 2050
Loss of Arctic ice leaves experts stunned
London, September 4/6 2007 -
The Arctic ice cap has collapsed at an unprecedented rate this summer and levels of sea ice in the region now stand at record lows, scientists have announced. Experts say they are "stunned" by the loss of ice, with an area almost twice as big as the UK disappearing in the last week alone. So much ice has melted this summer that the Northwest passage across the top of Canada is fully navigable, and observers say the Northeast passage along Russia's Arctic coast could open later this month.
www.guardian.co.uk: Loss of Arctic ice leaves experts stunned
www.noaanews.noaa.gov 0906: Arctic regional sea ice to decline 40 percent before 2050
Tipping points in the Earth system
London, August 30, 2007 - (by Timothy M. Lenton) -
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its many excellent reports tends to portray climate change as a smooth transition. Although the projections are rarely straight lines the underlying system and its responses appear ‘linear’ (in mathematical terms). There are, of course, exceptions to this, notable ones being the possible collapse of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation or irreversible melt of the Greenland ice sheet, which both get significant attention in the latest IPCC report (IPCC, 2007). These represent large scale ‘non-linear’ components of the Earth system.
researchpages.net: Tipping points in the Earth system
Ice, Cold, Ecological Risks May Hamper Arctic Oil Rush
August 24 2007 -
The prospect of vast oil and gas reserves beneath the Arctic Ocean has prompted countries to begin evaluating exploration options to assess what's really at stake.
news.nationalgeographic.com: Part 2/Ice, Cold, Ecological Risks May Hamper Arctic Oil Rush
news.nationalgeographic.com: Part 1/Arctic Oil Rush Sparks Battles Over Seafloor
Islands emerge as Arctic ice shrinks to record low
Ny Alesund, Svalbard/Spitsbergen
Ny Alesund, Norway, August 20 (Reuters) - Previously unknown islands are appearing as Arctic summer sea ice shrinks to record lows, raising questions about whether global warming is outpacing U.N. projections, experts said.
www.alertnet.org: Islands emerge as Arctic ice shrinks to record low
Denmark eyes North Pole riches
Copenhagen , August 17, 2007 -
"Dragons be here!" That is how the unknown region of the North Pole was marked on ancient Danish maps.
Much still remains to be mapped and Denmark is engaged in that work now, with a new polar expedition.
news.bbc.co.uk: Denmark eyes North Pole riches
Arctic Sea Ice Expected to Hit Record Low in September
Oregon, August 17, 2007 -
The extent of Arctic sea ice will likely have melted to a record low this September partially due to man-made greenhouse gas emissions, researchers at the University of Colorado said.
earthobservatory.nasa.gov: Sea Ice Retreat in the East Siberian Sea
www.enn.com: Arctic Sea Ice Expected to Hit Record Low in September
www.planetark.com: Islands Emerge as Arctic Ice Shrinks to Record Low
www.realclimate.org: Arctic sea ice watch
Eco anxiety: In Despair Over the Polar Bear
Oregon, August 17, 2007 -
Pamela Larsen, 41, a mother of two young girls, in Mt. Hood, Ore., gets a stomachache every time she looks up at the volcano nearby: the glaciers at its peak have definitely been receding over the years. As the mountainside gets browner and browner — evidence of climate change — the knot in Larsen's gut tightens....
Eco anxiety: Concern for the worsening state of the environment
Arctic sea ice watch...
August 10, 2007 -
A few people have already remarked on some pretty surprising numbers in Arctic sea ice extent this year (the New York Times has also noticed). The minimum extent is usually in early to mid September, but this year, conditions by Aug 9 had already beaten all previous record minima.
Given that there is at least a few more weeks of melting to go, it looks like the record set in 2005 will be unequivocally surpassed. It could be interesting to follow especially in light of model predictions discussed previously.
www.realclimate.org: Arctic sea ice watch
The North Pole: A new imperial battleground
London, July 31/August 4 2007 -
It is one of the planet's last great wildernesses. But suddenly everybody wants a piece of the Arctic - or more specifically, the reserves of oil and gas below the seabed, which have become a lucrative target for the surrounding powers.
www.economist.com 0803: Gold rush under the ice
news.bbc.co.uk 0801: Russian subs near Arctic target
english.pravda.ru 0801: Russia aims to lay claim to North Pole natural resources
environment.independent.co.uk: The North Pole: A new imperial battleground
Russia Claims the North Pole
Moskwa, July 12, 2007 -
President Vladimir Putin has long promised to restore Russian greatness and build an "energy empire." But until now, his empire-building had been confined to taking control of corporations operating on his turf, buying into businesses abroad, and blackmailing former Soviet Republics who dared vote against Moscow-backed candidates, moved to join NATO or acted in otherwise uppity ways. But Putin's imperial ambitions have recently added an element of classic 19th century-style territorial expansion: Late last month, Moscow signaled its intentions to annex the entire North Pole, an area twice the size of France with Belgium and Switzerland thrown in — except all of it under water.
www.time.com: China's Premier Urges Action In Energy-Saving Drive
Melting ice drives polar bear mothers to land
Washington, July 11 2007 - Melting sea ice is driving mother polar bears onto dry land to give birth in northern Alaska, U.S. Geological Survey scientists reported on Thursday.
www.reuters.uk: Melting ice drives polar bear mothers to land
Global warming is evaporating Arctic ponds, new study shows
Kingston, Ont (Canada), July 1, 2007 -- High Arctic ponds -- the most common source of surface water in many polar regions -- are now beginning to evaporate due to recent climate warming, say two of Canada’s leading environmental scientists. Some polar sites 'have already crossed the final ecological threshold,' says Queen's prof.
www.nytimes.com: Global warming is evaporating Arctic ponds, new study shows
Russia eyes vast Arctic territory
London, June 26, 2007 -
Russia may lay a claim to some of the energy riches of the Arctic. Russian geologists say they have data that would support a claim to about 1.2m sq km (463,000 sq miles) of energy-rich territory in the Arctic.
news.bbc.co.uk: Russia eyes vast Arctic territory
Icebergs are 'ecological hotspot'
London, June 22, 2007 -
Drifting icebergs are "ecological hotspots" that enable the surrounding waters to absorb an increased volume of carbon dioxide, a study suggests.
news.bbc.co.uk: Icebergs are 'ecological hotspot'
Arctic spring comes weeks earlier than a decade ago
Copenhagen / London, June 18 2007 -
Spring in the Arctic is arriving "weeks earlier" than a decade ago, a team of Danish researchers have reported. Earlier ice melt could disrupt the area's ecosystems, the study says.
news.bbc.co.uk: Arctic spring's 'rapid advance'
environment.independent.co.uk: Climate change brings early spring in the Arctic
environment.guardian.co.uk: Early springs bring problems for the creatures of the high Arctic
www.physorg.com: Arctic spring comes weeks earlier than a decade ago
www.sciam.com: Winter ends in the Arctic earlier than a decade ago
Dirty snow may warm Arctic as much as greenhouse gases
Irvine, (Calif/USA), June 6, 2007 -
The global warming debate has focused on carbon dioxide emissions, but scientists at UC Irvine have determined that a lesser-known mechanism – dirty snow – can explain one-third or more of the Arctic warming primarily attributed to greenhouse gases.
today.uci.edu: Dirty snow may warm Arctic as much as greenhouse gases
World Environment Day homes in on fear of melting ice
Tromsoe, Norway - June 5, 2007 -
The world marked Environment Day on Tuesday with cheerful events like tree-planting and solar cooking in the heat of Asia, but also gloomier talk in the not-so-frozen north of melting polar caps.
A new United Nations report says melting glaciers and ice sheets caused by global warming could disrupt drinking and agricultural water supplies for up to 40 percent of the world's population. The report released Monday said the depletion of ice caps could also contribute to global warming because the ice sheets reflect the sun's heat away from the Earth's surface. It also warns that such low-lying countries as Bangladesh and Indonesia could face severe flooding by melting.
www.reuters.com: World Environment Day homes in on fear of melting ice
www.reuters.com: Melting Ice, Snow to Hit Livelihoods Worldwide - UN
www.aftenposten.no: Climate experts sound new alarms in Tromsø
www.unep.org: Melting Ice-A Hot Topic? New UNEP Report Shows Just How Hot It's Getting
www.unep.org: Melting Ice, a Hot Topic?
Limits put on Arctic cruises
Oslo, June 4 2007 -
Norway's government plans to restrict cruise traffic around the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, and prohibit the use of heavy fuel oil.
"The goal is to hinder spills that could have hugely negative consequences for the environment in the fragile and valuable areas around Svalbard," said Minister of the Environment Helen Bjørnøy, who is in Tromsø this week in connection with the UN's World Environment Day and International Climate Conference.
www.aftenposten.no: Limits put on Arctic cruises
Polar bears at risk as warming thaws icy home
Longyearbyen, Norway (Reuters) - May 21 2007 -
Time may be running out for polar bears as global warming melts the ice beneath their paws.
Restrictions or bans on hunting in recent decades have helped protect many populations of the iconic Arctic carnivore, but many experts say the long-term outlook is bleak.
An estimated 20,000-25,000 bears live around the Arctic -- in Canada, Russia, Alaska, Greenland and Norway -- and countries are struggling to work out ways to protect them amid forecasts of an accelerating thaw.
www.cnn.com: Alarming acceleration in CO2 emissions worldwide
Schwarzenegger invited to symposium on Svalbard
May 15, 2007 -
Norway's Minister of the Environment Helen Bjørnøy has invited Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to a summit meeting at arctic Svalbard.
The news was reported by web site abcnyheter.no, which cited confirmation from senior ministry adviser Inger Johanne Wiese.
www.aftenposten.no: Schwarzenegger invited to symposium on the future of Svalbard
www.aftenposten.no: Svalbard ice melting
Half of Barents ice is gone
Oslo, May 8 2007 -
A new report on the state of the Barents Sea is setting off new alarms within Norway’s government and the institute that tracks developments in the Arctic.
www.aftenposten.no: Half of Barents ice is gone
Arctic ice retreating more quickly than computer models project
Washington, April 30 2007 -
A new study published in Geophysical Research Letters concludes that Arctic sea ice is melting faster than indicated by the computer models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The shrinking of summertime ice is about 30 years ahead of IPCC projections.
www.ucar.edu: Arctic Ice Retreating More Quickly Than Computer Models Project
www.jpl.nasa.gov: NASA Finds Arctic Replenished Very Little Thick Sea Ice in 2005
www.agu.org: Arctic ice retreating more quickly than computer models project
news.bbc.co.uk: Earth - melting in the heat?
news.bbc.co.uk: Climate change around the world
Canadian north offers 'ground zero' view of global warming
April 16, 2007 — IQALUIT, Nunavut — Inuit hunters are falling through thinning ice and dying. Dolphins are being spotted for the first time. There's not enough snow to build igloos for shelter during hunts.
www.usatoday.com: Canadian north offers 'ground zero' view of global warming
Russia Tries to Save Polar Bears With Legal Hunt
Vankarem, (Russia), April 16, 2007 —
Here on the frozen edge of the country’s Arctic expanse, where a changing climate has brought polar bears into greater contact with people, Russia has embraced a counterintuitive method of trying to preserve the creatures: hunting them, legally.
www.nytimes.com: Russia Tries to Save Polar Bears With Legal Hunt
Arctic Fox May Be Left Behind By Warming, Study Suggests
April 10, 2007 -
Arctic foxes in Europe died out as the last ice age ended, suggesting many cold-loving animals are much more vulnerable to global warming than previously believed.
news.nationalgeographic.com: Arctic Fox May Be Left Behind By Warming, Study Suggests
Antarctic melting may be speeding up
Hobart, March 23, 2007 - (Reuters) - Rising sea levels and melting polar ice-sheets are at upper limits of projections, leaving some human population centers already unable to cope, top world scientists say as they analyze latest satellite data.
www.reuters.com: Antarctic melting may be speeding up
www.planetark.com: Southern Ocean Current Faces Slowdown Threat
Gravity Measurements Help Melt Ice Mysteries
Greenbelt (MD/USA), March 23, 2007 -
Greenland is cold and hot. It's a deep freezer storing 10 percent of Earth's ice and a subject of fevered debate. If something should melt all that ice, global sea level could rise as much as 7 meters (23 feet). Greenland and Antarctica - Earth's two biggest icehouses - are important indicators of climate change and a high priority for research, as highlighted by the newly inaugurated International Polar Year.
Just a few years ago, the world's climate scientists predicted that Greenland wouldn't have much impact at all on sea level in the coming decades. But recent measurements show that Greenland's ice cap is melting much faster than expected.
www.nasa.gov: Gravity Measurements Help Melt Ice Mysteries
Arctic ocean may lose all its ice by 2040, disrupting global weather
London, March 16, 2007 - Rapidly thinning Arctic sea ice may have reached a tipping point that threatens to disrupt global weather patterns, bringing intense winter storms and heavier rainfall to western Europe, scientists warn today.
environment.guardian.co.uk: Arctic ocean may lose all its ice by 2040, disrupting global weather
www.sciencemag.org: Polar Science
www.sciencemag.org: Momentous Changes at the Poles
priceofoil.org: Winter “Warmest on Record” As Arctic Reaches “Tipping Point”
Collapse of Arctic sea ice 'has reached tipping-point'
London, March 16, 2007 -
A catastrophic collapse of the Arctic sea ice could lead to radical climate changes in the northern hemisphere according to scientists who warn that the rapid melting is at a "tipping point" beyond which it may not recover.
www.independent.co.uk: Collapse of Arctic sea ice 'has reached tipping-point'
Pollution From U.S., Europe, Others Speeding Arctic Warming, Study Says
March 16, 2007
Pollution from industrialized countries is heating the Arctic atmosphere faster than any region on Earth, a new study warns.
news.nationalgeographic.com: Pollution From U.S., Europe, Others Speeding Arctic Warming, Study Says
Asia smog fuelling Pacific storms 'will melt Arctic ice'
London, March 6, 2007 -
Smog and air pollution from Asian cities have intensified storms over the Pacific Ocean, which will result in increased warming of the Arctic, scientists have warned. They report that the number of storm clouds in the region has increased by up to a half over the last 20 years as rapidly industrialised cities in countries such as India and China burn more coal as they grow.
environment.guardian.co.uk: Asia smog fuelling Pacific storms 'will melt Arctic ice'
Svalbard ice melting
Oslo, 1 March 2007 -
The glaciers on arctic Svalbard are melting faster than researchers believed and the pace has accelerated over the past five years.
Over 16 cubic kilometers of ice from the many Svalbard glaciers vanishes each year. At the same time record summer temperatures have been measured in Longyearbyen, and snowfall has declined.
www.aftenposten.no: Svalbard ice melting
Climate change: scientists warn it may be too late to save the ice caps
London, February 20, 2007 -
A critical meltdown of ice sheets and severe sea level rise could be inevitable because of global warming, the world's scientists are preparing to warn their governments. New studies of Greenland and Antarctica have forced a UN expert panel to conclude there is a 50% chance that widespread ice sheet loss "may no longer be avoided" because of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
environment.guardian.co.uk: Scientists warn it may be too late to save the ice caps
news.independent.co.uk 160207: Scientists sound alarm over melting Antarctic ice sheets
Alaska natives left out in the cold
Anchorage, January 4 2007 -
While the rest of the world argues about the best way to curb future climate change, says Patricia Cochran in this week's Green Room, native communities within the Arctic Circle are having to draw on their own ancestral strengths to adapt to a rapidly changing world.
www.bbc.co.uk: Alaska natives left out in the cold
Scientists plead for action to save poles from 'tipping point' disaster
Pollution Soaring to Crisis Levels in Arctic
Svalbard, March 12, 2006 -
Researchers have uncovered compelling evidence that indicates Earth's most vulnerable regions - the North and South Poles - are poised on the brink of a climatic disaster.
The scientists, at an atmospheric monitoring station in the Norwegian territory of Svalbard, have found that levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere near the North Pole are now rising at an unprecedented pace.
In 1990 this key cause of global warming was rising at a rate of 1 part per million (ppm). Recently, that rate reached 2 ppm per year. Now, scientists at the Mount Zeppelin monitoring station have discovered it is rising at between 2.5 and 3 ppm.
observer.guardian.co.uk: Pollution Soaring to Crisis Levels in Arctic
www.commondreams.org: Idem
The Tipping Point?
December 6, 2005 - (by Jim Hansen) -
The Earth's climate is nearing, but has not passed, a tipping point beyond which it will be impossible to avoid climate change with far-ranging undesirable consequences. These include not only the loss of the Arctic as we know it, with all that implies for wildlife and indigenous peoples, but losses on a much vaster scale due to rising seas.
Ocean levels will increase slowly at first, as losses at the fringes of Greenland and Antarctica due to accelerating ice streams are nearly balanced by increased snowfall and ice sheet thickening in the ice sheet interiors.
But as Greenland and West Antarctic ice is softened and lubricated by meltwater, and as buttressing ice shelves disappear because of a warming ocean, the balance will tip toward the rapid disintegration of ice sheets.
The Earth's history suggests that with warming of two to three degrees, the new sea level will include not only most of the ice from Greenland and West Antarctica, but a portion of East Antarctica, raising the sea level by twenty-five meters, or eighty feet. Within a century, coastal dwellers will be faced with irregular flooding associated with storms. They will have to continually rebuild above a transient water level.
This grim scenario can be halted if the growth of greenhouse gas emissions is slowed in the first quarter of this century.
(From a presentation to the American Geophysical Union, December 6, 2005)
New Scientific Consensus: Arctic Is Warming Rapidly
Reykjavik November 8, 2004 -
The Arctic is warming much more rapidly than previously known, at nearly twice the rate as the rest of the globe, and increasing greenhouse gases from human activities are projected to make it warmer still, according to an unprecedented four-year scientific study of the region conducted by an international team of 300 scientists.
www.sciencedaily.com: observer.guardian.co.uk: New Scientific Consensus: Arctic Is Warming Rapidly
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