No, it’s not the latest arctic documentary. For just the second time in recorded history, ice floes blocking the Northwest Passage, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in Northern Canada, are expected to melt away.
The Globe and Mail reports:
“It really is just one more indication how quickly we’re losing the sea ice cover. … The sea ice cover is in a downward spiral, it’s essentially in a death spiral right now.”
The polar ice cap is now so thin that, even though this summer has been somewhat cooler than the previous one, large portions will disappear. “It really almost doesn’t matter any more. We know we’ll get a big loss of ice this year simply because we have so much thin ice,” Dr. Serreze said.
Scientists are still unclear how the disappearance of the Arctic ice will influence weather elsewhere in the world. Some studies show that the western part of North America will suffer extended drought. Others suggest there will be changes to storm tracks and precipitation patterns over Western Europe.
“It’s the sort of thing that we’re just starting to get a handle on. It’s a new area of research because we weren’t thinking we would lose sea ice this quickly. Compared to what our climate models said, we’re 20, 30 years ahead of schedule in terms of ice loss. This kind of caught us by surprise and the researchers are just starting to catch up.”
Image via Treehugger.com.
Story via Urban Ichthyosapien.
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