The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
Earth has been shedding sea ice at an average annual rate of 35,000 square kilometres since 1979, a new NASA study has found. “Even though Antarctic sea ice reached a new record maximum this past September, global sea ice is still decreasing,” said Claire Parkinson, author of the study and …
Warming occurs particularly fast in the Arctic and exerts profound effects on arctic ecosystems. Sea ice-associated ecosystems are projected to decline but reduced arctic sea ice cover also increases the solar radiation reaching the coastal seafloors with the potential for expansion of vegetated habitats, i.e. kelp forests and seagrass meadows. …
When sea ice forms it scavenges and concentrates particulates from the water column, which then become trapped until the ice melts. In recent years, melting has led to record lows in Arctic Sea ice extent, the most recent in September 2012. Global climate models, such as that of Gregory et …
Ocean surface waves (sea and swell) are generated by winds blowing over a distance (fetch) for a duration of time. In the Arctic Ocean, fetch varies seasonally from essentially zero in winter to hundreds of kilometers in recent summers. Using in situ observations of waves in the central Beaufort Sea, …
Earth’s ability to reflect sunlight is diminishing due to drastic melting of sea ice in Arctic Ocean, a new study says. The researchers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, at the University of California, San Diego came on to the conclusion after analysing data from the Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy …
Last year, 2013, was tied with 2003 as the fourth warmest year since records began in 1880, according to the US government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). For the 37th consecutive year, global temperatures were higher than the 20 thcentury average. Using the same data but calculating slightly differently, …
We investigated the impact of radiosonde data from the ice-free Arctic Ocean obtained by the Japanese R/V Mirai during a cruise in the fall of 2010 on the AFES-LETKF experimental ensemble reanalysis version 2 (ALERA2) data set. The reanalysis used radiosonde data over the ice-free region. Compared with observations, it …
The amount of sea ice in the Arctic has fallen to the lowest level on record, a confirmation of the drastic warming in the region. Satellites tracking the extent of the sea ice found over the weekend that it covered about 1.58 million square miles, or less than 30 per …
Environmental scientists have known that high levels of the toxic element, mercury, have been accumulating in the Arctic Ocean for some time. It was believed to be mostly caused by atmospheric sources stemming from the combustion of coal. However, a new study from the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied …
The oil giant Shell filed suit in federal court in Alaska last week against a dozen environmental groups, employing a rare — and rarely successful — legal gambit in an effort to pre-empt anticipated legal challenges to its plans to begin exploration in the Arctic Ocean this summer. Was the …
Arctic sea ice at its lowest in 2011, says World Meteorological Organization report. The year 2011 has been the 10th warmest year on record in spite of a strong La Nina, which has a relatively cooling influence. In the event of a La Nina, the sea surface temperature is lower …
This provisional statement on the status of the global climate, released by WMO provides the technical information on world’s 10th warmest year, warmest year with La Niña on record, second-lowest Arctic sea ice extent for the year 2011. For full text: http://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/press_releases/gcs_2011_en.html
Global economics, not declining sea ice, is driving ships to the Arctic Ocean. Only international regulation will protect the region, says Lawson Brigham.
Sea-ice coverage across the Arctic Ocean has dwindled to its second-lowest level since satellite records started in 1979, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Areas of the Arctic with at least 15 percent sea-ice as of Saturday totaled 1.68 million square miles, slightly above the record-low of …
The minimum summertime volume of Arctic sea ice fell to a record low last year, researchers said in a study, suggesting that thinning of the ice had outweighed a recovery in area. The study estimated that last year broke the previous, 2007 record for the minimum volume of ice, which …
The minimum summertime volume of Arctic sea ice fell to a record low last year, researchers said in a study to be published shortly, suggesting that thinning of the ice had outweighed a recovery in area. The study estimated that last year broke the previous, 2007 record for the minimum …
Denmark and its self-governing dependency of Greenland plan to present a seabed claim extending to the North Pole before the end of 2014 against competing claims from other Arctic states, Danish officials said on Monday. Ownership of the Arctic seabed has grown in importance as the shrinking of sea ice …
Scientists from the Geological Survey will embark next week on an expedition to monitor acidification trends in the Arctic Ocean linked to carbon emissions, the agency said. The USGS scientists will spend seven weeks on a Coast Guard icebreaker, getting as close to the North Pole as possible to take …
