Arctic Ice “Rotten” to the North Pole, scientist says

[seftonm]

A recent study that looked back 1,450 years indicates the current Arctic ice melt has already eclipsed the medieval warm period of about 1,000 years ago.

Margaret Munro - VANCOUVERSUN - September 21, 2012

When David Barber first headed to the Arctic in the 1980s, the ice would typically retreat just a few a kilometres offshore by summer’s end.

Now he and his colleagues have to travel more than 1,000 kilometres north into the Beaufort Sea to even find the ice.

And it’s nothing like the thick, impenetrable ice of Arctic lore.

This year the ice is “rotten” practically all the way to the North Pole, says Barber, a veteran Arctic researcher and director of the Centre for Earth Observation Science at the University of Manitoba.

“The multi-year ice, what’s left of it, is so heavily decayed that it’s really no longer a barrier to transportation,” he says, explaining how melt ponds have left much of the ice looking like Swiss cheese.

“You could have taken a ship right across the North Pole this year,” says Barber, whose research team was involved in a 36-day research cruise in the Beaufort on a Canadian Coast Guard ship.

The Arctic ice loss this summer shattered the record set in 2007. It hit the low point last weekend, covering 3.41 million square kilometers, or 24 per cent, of the Arctic Ocean, according to the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center, which has been tracking the ice with satellites since the late 1970s.

This year’s minimum is nearly 50-per -cent lower than the 1979 to 2000 average.
... [Read More]

[Troll67]

There's a reason there is oil in the Northern Latitudes....it was VERY WARM there for a long time.

[CRT1]

The last time there was no arctic ice cap was about 15 million years ago and there was little to no ice anywhere on the planet. It is also the last time that Carbon levels in the atmosphere were at our current level for an extended period of time. Sea levels were 75-110 feet higher than today. That would submerge over 15% of the worlds population . . . . just because this state existed in geological history doesn't mean it will be a tea party for us . . .

[worthywads]

Is it good news that the south pole is going the other direction or at least unchanged?

[diamondlarry]

Originally Posted by worthywads

Is it good news that the south pole is going the other direction or at least unchanged?

Now WW, you know info like this won't help "the cause" so it must be ignored.

[seftonm]

Originally Posted by worthywads

Is it good news that the south pole is going the other direction or at least unchanged?

Good question. From what I've read, this is not unexpected. So unfortunately, it's not as good of news as it may appear to be at first glance.

http://www.livescience.com/23333-rec...l-warming.html

[bestmapman]

Originally Posted by seftonm

Good question. From what I've read, this is not unexpected. So unfortunately, it's not as good of news as it may appear to be at first glance.

http://www.livescience.com/23333-rec...l-warming.html

Ha, Ha, Haaaa not unexpected !!!!! Of Course.

[chilimac02]

Originally Posted by bestmapman

Ha, Ha, Haaaa not unexpected !!!!! Of Course.

A few years out of the norm could just be a deviation and then a return to he norm. But the data certainly shows north pole ice receding. Thankfully if floating ice melts the sea level doesn't change since it was already in the ocean. Land ice melting would be something to worry about.

[ALS]

Originally Posted by bestmapman

Ha, Ha, Haaaa not unexpected !!!!! Of Course.

Gee sounds like the main stream media every week when the unemployment numbers come out.

[all_about_the_glide]

Let's see, massive reduction in Arctic ice cover, while Antarctica gained a slight amount (Shhh...the models predict this)--that's about a wash. Sounds like Fox News: fair and balanced.