Loss of Arctic Sea IceAmplifies Regional Warming, Study Says

A U.S. scientist has found that the rapid disappearance of summer sea ice in the Arctic is sharply increasing temperatures in the region because the exposed ocean is absorbing large amounts of heat. Julienne Stroeve of the National Snow and Ice Data Center says that in the last four years, autumn air temperatures in Arctic regions that have lost significant amounts of sea ice have increased by 3 C (5.4 F) compared with long-term average temperatures. In some places, autumn air temperatures in the last four years have been 5 C (9 F) warmer than the 1979 to 2008 average. Stroeve’s findings, presented at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union, confirm what climate scientists have long predicted — that the loss of Arctic sea ice would mean that solar radiation once reflected back into space by ice is now being absorbed by the dark surface of the ocean, significantly boosting air and sea temperatures. Warmer temperatures then lead to the loss of more ice, which in turn causes more warming, creating a feedback loop that amplifies warming. Stroeve called an ice-covered Arctic “the air conditioner of the Northern Hemisphere” and said ice loss could eventually affect global climate.