Home » Posts tagged 'melting ice'

Tag Archives: melting ice

Olduvai
Click on image to purchase

Olduvai III: Catacylsm
Click on image to purchase

Post categories

Post Archives by Category

Ice free Arctic could occur this year, warns expert

June 5, 2016

Ice free Arctic could occur this year, warns expert

The last time the Arctic was ice-free was 100,000 years ago. © Svebor Kranjc
The last time the Arctic was ice-free was 100,000 years ago. © Svebor Kranjc / Reuters
Sea ice in the Arctic could be a thing of the past, a leading scientist has warned. For the first time in 100,000 years the chilling landscape known for its snow-capped mountains and polar bears may be without its sea ice either this year or the next.

Ocean Physics Professor Peter Wadhams from Cambridge University based his prediction on projected data from the US National Snow and Ice Data Center showing that on 1 June this year there were estimated to be 11.1 million square kilometers of sea ice. This is below the average from the past 30 years of 12.7 million square kilometers, a difference of an area roughly the same size as the UK.

Colm McGlinchey @ColmMcGlinchey

Arctic sea ice reading (red) shows 1 June well below the average (source NSICD)

5:19 AM – 5 Jun 2016

The ice reaches its lowest level in mid-September as the summer ends, when on average it has fallen to 6.3 square kilometers. ‘Ice-free’ is defined as when the Arctic Ocean contains less than one million square kilometers of sea ice, allowing for the thick ice around the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

The last mid-September reading in 2012 measured 3.4 million square kilometers.

“My prediction remains that the Arctic ice may well disappear, that is, have an area of less than one million square kilometers for September of this year” the professor told the Independent.

“I think there’s a reasonable chance it could get down to a million this year and if it doesn’t do it this year, it will do it next year” he added.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Olduvai IV: Courage
Click on image to read excerpts

Olduvai II: Exodus
Click on image to purchase

Click on image to purchase @ FriesenPress