Arctic Sea Ice Reached Fourth Lowest Extent on Record This Summer

picture-14309-1371183830.jpg
on

Arctic sea ice reached its annual minimum on September 11 this year and scientists say it appears the accelerated pace of sea ice decline has continued into 2015.

According to researchers at NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), the extent of Arctic sea ice shrank to 4.4 million square kilometers (1.7 million square miles) this summer, which ranks 2015 as having the fourth-lowest minimum extent since satellites were first used to observe sea ice coverage inย 1979.

The ice melted at a relatively slow rate in June, the month when the Arctic typically receives the most sunlight, the scientists said. But ice loss accelerated again in July and above average rates continued through August, usually the month when the loss rate begins to taper off.

Minimum Arctic sea ice extent has been decreasing since the late 1970s in response to global warming, and has been accelerating since 1996, NASA says. The ten lowest minimum extents have all occurred in the past eleven years.


Image via NASA.

The sea ice cap was once a solid sheet of ice that grew and shrank with the seasons, but itโ€™s become increasingly fragmented into smaller ice floes that are more exposed to the warmer water, which only serves to accelerate melting even further.

โ€œArctic ice cover becomes less and less resilient and it doesnโ€™t take as much to melt it as it used to,โ€ Walt Meier, a sea ice scientist with NASA, said in a statement. โ€œIn the past, Arctic sea ice was like a fortress. The ocean could only attack it from the sides. Now itโ€™s like the invaders have tunneled in from underneath and the ice pack melts from within.โ€

This year, at the end of a hotter than average August, a big โ€œholeโ€ appeared in the ice pack in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, allowing the ocean to absorb more of the sunโ€™s energy and accelerating melting, the NASA and NSIDC scientists said. This yearโ€™s minimum sea ice extent of 1.8 million square kilometers (699,000 square miles) is lower than the 1981-2010 average.


Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Environmentalists were quick to point out the irony of the Obama Administration allowing Shell to drill in the Arctic even while the region provides one of the clearest examples of how global warming is already impacting the planet.

โ€œThe sea ice minimum measurement is a devastating reminder of how fast weโ€™re hurtling towards an unstoppable climate crisis,โ€ Greenpeace USAโ€™s Mary Nicol said in a statement. โ€œInstead of using data like the sea ice minimum as a clear warning sign to take bold action, our leaders are allowing Shell to drill for oil in the melting Arctic ice.โ€

Minimum Arctic sea ice extent is probably not the only reason 2015 will go down in the record books. Climate scientists have said that 2015 is on pace to be the hottest ever recorded.

World Wildlife Fundโ€™s Margaret Williams said in a statement that both records are further evidence of the urgent need to reduce global emissions from fossil fuels, adding, โ€œDwindling sea ice is a stark reminder of the destruction climate change wages on our most vulnerable wildlife and communities.โ€

This post originally appeared on Mongabay.com.

ย 

Image Credit: Rhett Butler / Mongabay.com

picture-14309-1371183830.jpg
Mike Gaworecki is a San Francisco-based journalist who writes about energy, climate, and forest issues for DeSmogBlog and Mongabay.com. His writing has appeared on BillMoyers.com, Alternet, Treehugger, Change.org, Huffington Post, and more. He is also a novelist whose debut โ€œThe Mysticistโ€ came out via FreemadeSF inย 2014.

Related Posts

on

Major oil and gas firms are being represented by lobbyists that have given more than ยฃ300,000 in support to Keir Starmerโ€™s party.

Major oil and gas firms are being represented by lobbyists that have given more than ยฃ300,000 in support to Keir Starmerโ€™s party.
on

New documents show close coordination between the oil major and a coalition of free-market think tanks at a crucial moment in climate diplomacy.

New documents show close coordination between the oil major and a coalition of free-market think tanks at a crucial moment in climate diplomacy.
Analysis
on

Right wing YouTuber Tim Pool is the latest to own โ€˜climate peopleโ€™ with fake facts spouted by a grizzled TV oilman.

Right wing YouTuber Tim Pool is the latest to own โ€˜climate peopleโ€™ with fake facts spouted by a grizzled TV oilman.
on

Critics say the controversial GWP* method โ€“ which New Zealand appears close to adopting โ€“ is โ€œopen to significant abuseโ€.

Critics say the controversial GWP* method โ€“ which New Zealand appears close to adopting โ€“ is โ€œopen to significant abuseโ€.