The Arctic sea ice maximum this year effectively tied for the lowest ever on record, with major implications for polar ecosystems and global warming
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By providing your email address, you also consent to having the email address shared with third parties for those purposes.The shell of ice that expands atop the Arctic Ocean every winter has done all the growing it will do this season—and that hasn’t been much. In fact, the annual winter maximum sea ice extent this year has tied for the record lowest amount in the nearly 50 years that satellites have been keeping watch. “This record low maximum gives a head start to the spring and summer melt season,” said Walt Meier, senior research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center , in a press release. The expanse of Arctic Ocean covered by ice grew to 14.29 million square kilometers , likely peaking on March 15, NSIDC reported on Thursday. This is just below a past record low of 14.31 million km is considered a tie.. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. The record underscores the rapid loss of Earth’s northern polar ice cap, driven by the human-caused rise in global temperatures. This year’s winter low was 1.36 million km below the 1981–2010 average. That’s a loss of ice about twice the size of Texas. The disappearance of Arctic ice—which is even more pronounced in the summer months—not only threatens fragile polar habitats and the species that live there; it also exacerbates global warming. The ice is naturally reflective, sending some of the sun’s rays back out to space. But the darker open ocean absorbs those rays, raising temperatures and driving further ice melt. “One or two record low years don’t necessarily mean much by themselves, but in the context of the significant downward trend that we’ve observed since 1979, it reinforces the dramatic change to Arctic sea ice throughout all seasons,” Meier said.—defined as the moment when ice cover shrinks below one million km—before the end of the decade. The pace of ice loss and the implications have spurred some researchers toIt’s Time to Stand Up for Sciencehas served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world.always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too., you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.
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