Winter Sea Ice in ArcticIs Rapidly Thinning, New Study Shows

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.