NASA Reveals The Melting Of Arctic Sea Ice Due To Warm Temperature

First Posted: Aug 19, 2016 07:07 AM EDT

The NASA scientists unravel the dramatically declined of the Arctic sea ice because of the warm temperature. The sea ice is frozen ocean water around the polar caps. In the winter, it grows. On the other hand, during summer, it thins and decreases.

According to NASA, the Arctic is the Earth's air conditioner. It helps in regulating the global temperatures. On the other hand, it is warming twice as fast as any other places in the world. This makes the Arctic one of the most visible signs of the changing planet. They are observing now the changing conditions in the Arctic with its satellites and airborne. Their ground campaign also measures the polar sea ice.

@NASAEarth @NASA I'm looking forward to the discussion on the role +AMO phase has had on melting Arctic Sea Ice. pic.twitter.com/pcsJrCFoJE

— Climate News (@ClimateNewsCA) August 18, 2016

As of today, they are monitoring the ice sheets that are melting at increasing rates. NASA will also launch the ICESat-2 satellite, in which it will make the most advanced measurements of the polar regions in 2018.

Walt Meier, a NASA sea ice scientist stated that they had the lowest sea ice extent average over the first six months by a fair amount in the satellite record going back to 1979. Meanwhile, Gavin Schmidt said that 2016 has really blown that out of the water. He is referring to last year's record for being the hottest year globally, as noted by International Business Times.

Peter Wadhams, the former director of the Scott Polar Research Institute and professor of ocean physics at Cambridge described and commented on the decline of the Arctic Sea Ice. He said that humans are taking away the beautiful world of Arctic Ocean sea ice which once protected people from the impacts of climate extremes. People have created an ocean where there was once an ice sheet. He concluded that it is man's first major achievement in reshaping the face of the planet.

The NASA scientists will show images of the Arctic sea ice on August 19 from 6:00 A.M. to 11:30 A.M. EDT. They will also discuss how the polar region is fairing this summer.