The thickness of the Arctic Ocean’s ice cap decreased by a record 19 percent last winter, further evidence of a general collapse of the sea ice that has covered the North Pole for millennia, according to a new study. Writing in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, scientists from University College London said that a steady reduction in sea ice thickness in recent years accelerated sharply last winter after Arctic sea ice reached a record low extent in the summer of 2007. Using satellite data from 2002 to 2008, the researchers determined that in parts of the western Arctic, sea ice thinned by 49 centimeters (19.2 inches) in the winter of 2007-2008 compared to the previous winter. The study confirms that not only is the extent of summer Arctic sea ice drastically shrinking — it declined 43 percent from 1979 to 2007 — but that the Arctic’s year-round ice cap is only half as thick as it was three decades ago. The University College researchers said that warming sea temperatures may be one of the main reasons that the year-round ice cap is swiftly losing mass.
Winter Sea Ice in ArcticIs Rapidly Thinning, New Study Shows
More From E360
-
Cities
‘Sponge City’: How Copenhagen Is Adapting to a Wetter Future
-
INTERVIEW
On Controlling Fire, New Lessons from a Deep Indigenous Past
-
Solutions
Paying the People: Liberia’s Novel Plan to Save Its Forests
-
OPINION
Forest Service Plan Threatens the Heart of an Alaskan Wilderness
-
INTERVIEW
Pakistan’s Solar Revolution Is Bringing Power to the People
-
Food & Agriculture
In Uganda, Deadly Landslides Force an Agricultural Reckoning
-
Energy
Why U.S. Geothermal May Advance, Despite Political Headwinds
-
Food & Agriculture
In War Zones, a Race to Save Key Seeds Needed to Feed the World
-
Climate
Lightning Strikes the Arctic: What Will It Mean for the Far North?
-
RIVERS
A Win for Farmers and Tribes Brings New Hope to the Klamath
-
Solutions
Deconstructing Buildings: The Quest for New Life for Old Wood
-
NATURAL DEFENSES
How Restored Wetlands Can Protect Europe from Russian Invasion