Growing Arctic sea ice likely to melt, says scientist
A University of Manitoba climate researcher says the growth of Arctic sea ice in 2008 is NOT cause for optimism. What scientists are seeing is mostly thin, first-year ice that is likely to melt during the summer, David Barber is quoted as saying last week in the Winnipeg Free Press. The amount of thicker multi-year ice that once covered the entire Arctic basin before it began melting decreased last year, Barber said.
Satellite images have recorded that sort of decrease for the last three decades, noting a decline of more than 10 per cent per decade. The 2007 retreat in ice was the largest on record, allowing clear navigation of the Northwest Passage for the first time in human memory.
In another surprising development, satellite images taken last July showed a slab of ice measuring four square kilometres had broken away from the Ward Hunt Island Ice Shelf in Nunavut. Canadian and U.S. researchers who studied the fracture said it was more evidence of accelerated climate change in the northern polar region.
With scientists predicting ice-free summers as soon as 2013, government and industry interest in the Arctic has peaked over the possibility of valuable new shipping lanes.
Ecosystems in danger from melting ice
But the melting ice is also evidence of rising temperatures across the globe and bad news for northern communities and the Arctic ecosystem, from plankton to polar bears. Barber led the $40-million Circumpolar Flaw Lead study, which ended its nine-month research stint in the high Arctic last August. Some of the study’s preliminary findings will be presented to the public at a Geneva conference this week as International Polar Year draws to a close.
International Polar Year (IPY) was touted as the largest-ever international program of scientific research focused on the Arctic and Antarctic regions. IPY, organized through the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), is actually the fourth polar year, following those in 1882-3, 1932-3, and 1957-8.
In order to have full and equal coverage of both the Arctic and the Antarctic, IPY 2007-8 covers two full annual cycles from March 2007 to March 2009 and involved over 200 projects, with thousands of scientists from over 60 nations examining a wide range of physical, biological and social research topics. It is also an unprecedented opportunity to demonstrate, follow, and get involved with, cutting edge science in real-time.
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