Opening up the Arctic – Literally Speaking
search that I started to doubt my own career choice, which I am quite content with normally. One thing we all waited for was the announcement of the Arctic sea ice minimum by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). And then, on October 2nd you could read it in nearly every newspaper: Arctic sea ice extent reached its lowest point this year on September 16, 2012 when sea ice extent dropped to 3.41 million square kilometers (1.32 million square miles). Averaged over the month of September, ice extent was 3.61 million square kilometers (1.39 million square miles). This places 2012 as the lowest ice extent both for the daily minimum extent and the monthly average. Ice extent was 3.29 million square kilometers (1.27 million square miles) below the 1979 to 2000 average.12
Notes
It was a record I am very sad I witnessed: this year, the Arctic sea ice extent was at the lowest point since the beginning of modern satellite observations in 1979. It shocked me how even a non-specialist such as myself was able to “see” it. We had been 83 degrees north, further north than any Greenpeace ship had ever been before. And still, if I compared our view with pictures of previous trips around the same time of the year, it looked as if we were further south. We never saw more than 60% ice cover. We did not see multi-year ice floes. Both the scientists on board and sailors from the crew who have been in the Arctic Ocean several times before were shocked by our findings. The Arctic is opening up. Literally speaking.
1 If you are interested in their articles you can find them here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2012/sep/06/history-sea-greenpeace-arctic-sunrise http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2012/sep/10/arctic-sunrise-polar-ice-cap http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2012/sep/11/sea-ice-language-arctic-sunrise http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2012/sep/12/polar-bears-arctic-ice http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2012/sep/13/less-arctic-sea-ice-satellites http://oglobo.globo.com/ciencia/artico-registra-recorde-de-degelo-aquece-disputa-internacional-6251582. 2 2007 had very unusual winds and weather conditions that contributed to an extreme melt of ice (http://nsidc.org/news/ press/20121002_MinimumPR.html). 3 http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/climate/arctic-melting-science-behind-ice-20120912. 4 Ibid. 5 http://psc.apl.washington.edu/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/schweiger/ice_volume/BPIOMASIceVolumeAnomalyCurrentV2_CY.png. 6 http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/pip/2012JC008195.shtml. 7 Flocco, D, Schroeder, D, Feltham L, and Hunke E.C. (2012): “Impact of melt ponds on Arctic sea ice simulations from 1990 to 2007.” Journal of Geophysical Research Geophysical Research. doi:10.1029/2012JC008195, in press 8 http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/pip/2012JC008195.shtml. 9 Ibid. 10 http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/climate/arctic-melting-science-behind-ice-20120912. 11 Ibid. 12 http://nsidc.org/news/press/20121002_MinimumPR.html. 13 http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a003900/a003998/Minimum_SeaIce_Area_2012_09_16.1080.tif. 10