Arctic Summers Could Be Ice-Free in 30 years

LiveScience Yahoo News 2 Apr 09;

Summers in the Arctic may be ice-free in as few as 30 years, not at the end of the century as previously expected, a new study suggests.

Previous research had suggested the summer ice in the Arctic could last until the end of the century.

The updated forecast, detailed in the April 3 issue of the journal Geophysical Research Letters, comes from combining a new analysis of computer models with the most recent summer ice measurements.

Arctic sea-ice has been thinner and covered a smaller area in recent years. The summer of 2007 saw a dramatic meltdown that opened up the fabled Northwest Passage. This past summer saw the second lowest summer ice area on record.

"The Arctic is changing faster than anticipated," said study co-author James Overland, an oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "It's a combination of natural variability, along with warmer air and sea conditions caused by increased greenhouse gases."

Overland and his co-author, Muyin Wang, of the University of Washington, analyzed projections from six computer models, including three with sophisticated sea ice physics capabilities. That data was then combined with observations of summer sea ice loss in 2007 and 2008.

The area covered by summer sea ice is expected to decline from its current about 2.8 million square miles (4.6 million square kilometers) to about 620,000 square miles (1 million square kilometers) - a loss approximately four-fifths the size of the continental U.S.

Much of the sea ice would remain in the area north of Canada and Greenland and decrease between Alaska and Russia in the Pacific Arctic.

The melting of sea ice can cause what is called a "feedback," by further fueling the warming trend.

"The Arctic is often called the 'Earth's refrigerator' because the sea ice helps cool the planet by reflecting the sun's radiation back into space," Wang said. "With less ice, the sun's warmth is instead absorbed by the open water, contributing to warmer temperatures in the water and the air."

Study: Arctic sea ice melting faster than expected
Randolph E. Schmid Associated Press Yahoo News 3 Apr 09;

WASHINGTON – Arctic sea ice is melting so fast most of it could be gone in 30 years. A new analysis of changing conditions in the region, using complex computer models of weather and climate, says conditions that had been forecast by the end of the century could occur much sooner.

A change in the amount of ice is important because the white surface reflects sunlight back into space. When ice is replaced by dark ocean water that sunlight can be absorbed, warming the water and increasing the warming of the planet.

The finding adds to concern about climate change caused by human activities such as burning fossil fuels, a problem that has begun receiving more attention in the Obama administration and is part of the G20 discussions under way in London.

"Due to the recent loss of sea ice, the 2005-2008 autumn central Arctic surface air temperatures were greater than 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit) above" what would be expected, the new study reports.

That amount of temperature increase had been expected by the year 2070.

The new report by Muyin Wang of the Joint Institute for the Study of Atmosphere and Ocean and James E. Overland of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, appears in Friday's edition of the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

They expect the area covered by summer sea ice to decline from about 2.8 million square miles normally to 620,000 square miles within 30 years.

Last year's summer minimum was 1.8 million square miles in September, second lowest only to 2007 which had a minimum of 1.65 million square miles, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

The Center said Arctic sea ice reached its winter maximum for this year at 5.8 million square miles on Feb. 28. That was 278,000 square miles below the 1979-2000 average making it the fifth lowest on record. The six lowest maximums since 1979 have all occurred in the last six years.

Overland and Wang combined sea-ice observations with six complex computer models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to reach their conclusions. Combining several computer models helps avoid uncertainties caused by natural variability.

Much of the remaining ice would be north of Canada and Greenland, with much less between Alaska and Russia in the Pacific Arctic.

"The Arctic is often called the Earth's refrigerator because the sea ice helps cool the planet by reflecting the sun's radiation back into space," Wang said in a statement. "With less ice, the sun's warmth is instead absorbed by the open water, contributing to warmer temperatures in the water and the air."

The study was supported by the NOAA Climate Change Program Office, the Institute for the Study of the Ocean and Atmosphere and the U.S. Department of Energy.