SCUBA Diving News

After four years of record lows in the extent of sea ice, researchers say the trend can no longer be blamed on short-term variability. Sea ice in the Arctic reached a record low this summer, accelerating a melting trend evident for a quarter-century. The data reveal that the rate of disappearance of ice has now risen to an average of 8% per decade. The figures reinforce previous forecasts that the Arctic is likely to be free of ice during most summers by about 2080.

There remains a question mark over whether the warming is tied to some natural long-term cycle, such as the Arctic Oscillation, which brings warmer air across much of the Arctic. But while the oscillation is currently in a warm phase, this has not increased during the past four years and the suspicion is growing that climate change caused by human activities is to blame.

Climate models predict that global warming will be amplified in the Arctic. This is because as white ice is replaced by dark ocean, the sea surface will absorb more of the sun's radiation and reflect less back into space.

More info: http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8071