Arctic Likely to Be Ice-Free during Summer within 20 Years
15.10.2009 - Water & Oceans, Ice & Snow, Human Dimension, Other, Arctic
New research shows that the Arctic Ocean be ice-free in summer within the next 20 years. Most of the melting will likely to occur within the next 10 years, although winter ice will likely remain for several hundred years.
Professor of ocean physics at the University of Cambridge, Peter Wadhams was able to find new evidence in comparing measurements taken by a Royal Navy submarine in 2007 with field data collected by British explorer Pen Hadow and his team on the Caitlin Arctic Survey by drilling 1, 500 holes in the ice along their 450 km route. The evidence collected by Hadow and his team showed the ice cover to be only 1.8 metres thick, making it too thin to make it through the summer's ice melt.
If summer sea ice cover were to disappear from the Arctic it could have far-reaching consequences for the Earth's climate and approximately one fourth of the world's population. The ice, which has a higher albedo, reflects most solar radiation back into space and keeps it cool. However as it melts, the ice gives way to darker-coloured ocean, which absorbs solar radiation and creates a positive feedback loop of further climate warming.
Britain's Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband stated that the research "sets out the stark realities of climate change" and "further strengthens the case for an ambitious deal in Copenhagen."
