Latest Arctic Sea Stories

Officials said Wednesday that the Interior Department is accepting the recommendation from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act because of the decline in Arctic sea ice from global warming. The department made its decision after citing studies by its own scientists that the decline of Arctic sea ice off Alaska and Canada could result in two-thirds of the polar bears disappearing by mid-century. The decision comes...

Arctic ice has reformed rapidly this winter after a record summer low, but it still covers less of the Arctic Ocean than it did in previous decades, NASA scientists announced today in an update of the states of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice. March is the month where Arctic sea ice traditionally hits its highest extent after the Northern Hemisphere winter and Antarctic sea ice reaches its lowest extent. NASA satellites have monitored sea ice coverage over both poles for nearly...

Scientists recently developed a new modeling approach to estimate sea ice thickness. This is the only model based entirely on historical observations.The model was developed by scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow.Using this new technique, the thickness of Arctic sea ice was estimated from 1982 to 2003. Results showed that average ice thickness and total ice volume fluctuated together during the early study period, peaking in the late 1980s...

SAN FRANCISCO - New findings from NASA's CloudSat and other spacecraft in NASA's "A-Train" constellation of five Earth observing satellites offer important insights into this year's record reduction of Arctic sea ice, global rainfall patterns and the effects of pollution on clouds. The investigations are giving scientists a greater understanding of factors influencing Earth's present climate and an important foundation for better understanding long-term climate change. Speaking at...

BOULDER, Colo. -- Arctic sea ice is melting three times faster than many scientists project, U.S. researchers reported Monday, just days ahead of the next major international report on climate change.Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the University of Colorado in Boulder concluded, using actual measurements, that Arctic sea ice has declined at an average rate of about 7.8 percent per decade between 1953 and 2006.By contrast, 18 computer models used by the...

Goddard -- Observations and computer models have long proven that the Arctic plays an important role in maintaining a stable climate on Earth. However, significant changes in the Arctic environment, especially those over the past decade, could lead to dramatic swings in weather and climate patterns across the rest of the globe, with potentially far-reaching consequences for ecosystems and human populations. Societies that have adapted to their current climates may be faced with highly...