Nature & Environment
Record-Low Is The New Normal: As Good As Arctic Sea Ice Is Going To Get
Brooke James
First Posted: Sep 01, 2016 04:34 AM EDT
For decades now, scientists have been concerned about global warming, and how it is affecting life on Earth as we know it. The Arctic's trend of thinning and melting ice had many worried, especially considering that NASA expressed the current worrisome ice levels as the "new normal."
Live Science reported that melt season in the Arctic Ocean had consistently been in "record lows" over the past several years, and this year is no exception. The latest record low for the sea-ice extent was set in March, and the rapid ice loss continued on through May. While melting slowed in June, the environment still did not manage to bounce back.
Walt Meier, a sea ice consultant over the long term shared in a statement regarding a sea ice at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said in a statement, "It's just not going to be as extreme as other years, because the weather conditions in the Arctic were not as extreme as in other years."
Meier also added, "A decade ago, this year's sea ice extent would have set a new record low and by a fair amount. Now, we're kind of used to these low levels of sea ice - it's the new normal."
The consistent hot temperatures have taken a toll on the Arctic ice caps - this year's sea-ice cover north of Russia recently opened in April, weeks ahead of its supposed schedule. Bt the end of May, the sea ice cover was more comparable to the end-of-June levels.
While the sea ice cover can tell a lot about the problems that we need to face head-on, the thickness of ice is also important in determining the health of the Arctic. Unfortunately, according to Thorsten Markus, chief of the NASA Goddard's cryosphere lab , scientists know very little so far regarding the thickness of the sea ice.
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First Posted: Sep 01, 2016 04:34 AM EDT
For decades now, scientists have been concerned about global warming, and how it is affecting life on Earth as we know it. The Arctic's trend of thinning and melting ice had many worried, especially considering that NASA expressed the current worrisome ice levels as the "new normal."
Live Science reported that melt season in the Arctic Ocean had consistently been in "record lows" over the past several years, and this year is no exception. The latest record low for the sea-ice extent was set in March, and the rapid ice loss continued on through May. While melting slowed in June, the environment still did not manage to bounce back.
Walt Meier, a sea ice consultant over the long term shared in a statement regarding a sea ice at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said in a statement, "It's just not going to be as extreme as other years, because the weather conditions in the Arctic were not as extreme as in other years."
Meier also added, "A decade ago, this year's sea ice extent would have set a new record low and by a fair amount. Now, we're kind of used to these low levels of sea ice - it's the new normal."
The consistent hot temperatures have taken a toll on the Arctic ice caps - this year's sea-ice cover north of Russia recently opened in April, weeks ahead of its supposed schedule. Bt the end of May, the sea ice cover was more comparable to the end-of-June levels.
While the sea ice cover can tell a lot about the problems that we need to face head-on, the thickness of ice is also important in determining the health of the Arctic. Unfortunately, according to Thorsten Markus, chief of the NASA Goddard's cryosphere lab , scientists know very little so far regarding the thickness of the sea ice.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone