Latest Polar ice packs Stories

Four years of scientific research on ice core data has brought to light the warming trend in West Antarctica, the world's coldest climate.  According to the study, the West Antarctic warmed in response to higher temperatures in the tropical Pacific, which itself has been warming due to weather patterns including an El Nino event from 1939 to 1942 and greenhouse emissions from cars and factories."An increasingly large part of the signal is becoming due to human activity," said the...

The German Research Vessel Polarstern had to prove its ice breaking capabilities in Arctic waters to gain data on two series of long-term research measurements. After working in regions up to latitude 82° N, Polarstern of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association entered port in Reykjavik (Iceland) on August 10th."This year, we had to cope with exceptional heavy ice coverage", says chief scientist Prof. Gerhard Kattner. The sea ice...

Although new evidence suggests that a long-term thawing of Arctic sea ice is currently under way, scientists withdrew previous prediction that the ice would shrink below a 2007 record low this year.Previous reports highlighted a fear that the drastic melt witnessed in 2007 could lead to a total melt of ice on the North Pole. "Most likely there will not be a new record minimum ice year in the Arctic this September," said Ola M. Johannessen of the Nansen Environmental and Remote...

Climate scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute present their own prognosis for the first timeThe ice cover in the Arctic Ocean at the end of summer 2008 will lie, with almost 100 per cent probability, below that of the year 2005 "“ the year with the second lowest sea ice extent ever measured. Chances of an equally low value as in the extreme conditions of the year 2007 lie around eight per cent. Climate scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the...

Many polar scientists believe that ice at the North Pole stands a good chance of completely disappearing over the course of the year. Some scientists say the ice at 90 degrees north may well have melted away by the summer.The massive melting of such a well-known arctic location would be a symbolic example of the great impact of global warming. "From the viewpoint of science, the North Pole is just another point on the globe, but symbolically it is hugely important. There is supposed...

The rate of climate warming over northern Alaska, Canada, and Russia could more than triple during periods of rapid sea ice loss, according to a new study led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The findings raise concerns about the thawing of permafrost, or permanently frozen soil, and the potential consequences for sensitive ecosystems, human infrastructure, and the release of additional greenhouse gases."Our study suggests that, if sea-ice continues to contract...

Scientists warned on Friday that they expect climate change to begin affecting the Antarctic, as the pace of thinning ice in the Arctic continues."The long-term prognosis is not very optimistic," Jennifer Francis, an atmospheric scientist with Rutgers University said during a briefing.In a shift many attribute to climate change, sea ice in the North shrank to a record low last summer. Although levels of solar radiation and greenhouse gases are similar at each of the planet's...

The shrinking expanse of Arctic sea ice is increasingly vulnerable to summer sunshine, new research concludes. The study, by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and Colorado State University (CSU), finds that unusually sunny weather contributed to last summer's record loss of Arctic ice, while similar weather conditions in past summers do not appear to have had comparable impacts.The study, which draws on observations from instruments on a new group of NASA...

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...

Arctic sea ice that re-formed after last summer's melt should be seen as an illusion rather than a new hope, according to Walter Meier of the National Snow and Ice Data Center.By glancing at a satellite image of the area, one could easily assume that the ice is making a comeback. Meier said the ice became more vulnerable after being melted and frozen."What's going on underneath the surface is really the key thing," Meier said. Having formed since September, more than 70 percent of...