Arctic Ice Observations Reveal Decades of Loss as Temperatures Rise

Most people know that the Arctic ice is thinning as temperatures warm. But now, scientists are realizing the full extent of this thinning; after compiling modern and historical measurements, researchers have found that the ice has declined steadily for years.

"The ice is thinning dramatically," said Ron Lindsay, lead author of the new study, in a news release. "We knew the ice was thinning, but we now have additional confirmation on how fast, and we can see that it's not slowing down."

In this case, the researchers combined all available observations of Arctic sea ice thickness over a 37-year stretch. The observations from the earlier period from 1975 to 1990 mostly rely on under-ice submarines. These records are less common since 2000, but have been replaced by a host of airborne and satellite measurements, as well as gathering data directly on or under the ice.

So what did they find? The researchers discovered that there was a 36 percent reduction in the average thickness of ice in the quarter century between 1975 and 2000.

"At least for the central Arctic basin, even our most drastic thinning estimate was slower than measured by these observations," said Axel Schweiger, co-author of the new study.

The findings reveal a bit more about how the Arctic ice has declined over time. This, in turn, will be useful to track future ice declines in the Arctic.

The findings are published in the journal The Cryosphere.

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