Latest Polar ice packs Stories

A hole in the ozone has resulted in a growth of Antarctic sea ice over the past 30 years, according to a report released on Tuesday.Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and NASA reported the ozone hole has resulted in changing weather patterns that have caused a small rise in the amount of Antarctic sea ice, while Arctic sea ice has seen a dramatic loss.Sea ice is a crucial part of the Earth's ecosystems. It acts as a reflector against the sun's heat, and provides a habitat for...

Three British explorers trekking to the North Pole to assess how fast the Arctic ice sheets are melting said they were astonished at how little permanent ice they have discovered.The team began their 620-mile walk from Canada's Arctic to the North Pole in early March, and had set down in an area scientists were sure would contain permanent multiyear ice.But so far, the average depth of the ice has been slightly less than 6 feet, indicating the team was finding mainly first year ice that will...

WASHINGTON, April 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The latest Arctic sea ice data from NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center show that the decade-long trend of shrinking sea ice cover is continuing. New evidence from satellite observations also shows that the ice cap is thinning as well. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) Arctic sea ice works like an air conditioner for the global climate system. Ice naturally cools air and water masses, plays a key role...

NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center say that the decade-long trend of shrinking sea ice cover in the Arctic is continuing and new evidence suggests that the ice cap is thinning as well.Arctic sea ice naturally cools air and water masses and plays an important role in ocean circulation as well as reflecting solar radiation back into space. However, Arctic sea ice has been declining at a staggering rate in recent years.Satellite monitoring of Arctic sea ice showed that this winter...

According to new analysis, arctic sea ice is melting so fast that the majority of it could be gone within the next 30 years.  The forecast is based on analysis generated using computer models of weather and climate.If the white ice melts, it will be replaced with dark ocean surface that will absorb sunlight. This will then speed up the global warming process.The findings increase concern about global warming, a problem that has become a focus of the G20 discussions under way in...

NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo., will hold a media teleconference on Monday, April 6, at 11 a.m. EDT, to present the latest observations of sea ice conditions in the Arctic.Sea ice cover over the Arctic Ocean typically reaches its maximum geographic extent and thickness just as spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere. In 30 years of satellite measurements of sea ice, the six smallest wintertime measurements all have occurred since 2004. Scientists also have...

A team of researchers from the UK who set off to measure the thickness of Arctic sea-ice that floats toward to the North Pole have been stuck battling extreme weather that has slowed their progress, BBC News reported.After landing on the ice three weeks ago, researchers Pen Hadow, Martin Hartley and Ann Daniels have experienced temperatures as low as -40C with wind chill. However, the weather has currently turned in their favor and the Catlin Arctic Survey team is now covering more than 6...

Two new reports published in the journal Nature illustrate possible flooding due to climate change and a meltdown of the massive West Antarctic ice sheet. In one study, researchers used soil cores below the Ross ice shelf to show that the massive melt took place between 3 million and 5 million years ago. That collapse amounted to an increase of more than 16 feet to global sea level, researchers noted. "What we're seeing in the past would lead us to believe that we are on track for losing...

Norway's Environment and Development Minister warned on Monday that melting Arctic ice is threatening the habitat of polar bears."If the ice is disintegrating in the Arctic, it will have enormous impact on polar bears," Erik Solheim told Reuters a day ahead of a meeting to discuss the future of polar bears.The meeting will bring together nations that are home to the large white carnivores "“ Canada, Norway, the U.S., Russia and Danish-administered Greenland. In 1973, these range...

Glacier ice appears to be melting in the western portion of Antarctica and not only on the Antarctic Peninsula, scientists reported on Wednesday in conclusion to the 2007-2008 International Polar Year.The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) alongside the International Council for Science (ICSU) released the "State of Polar Research" report today. The IPY took into account the work of more than 160 projects from researchers in more than 60 countries and received funding of about $1.2...