Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man on Arctic Sea Ice, 2011-09-13, Greenpeace. Photo source: ©© Nick Cobbing / Greenpeace
Excerpts;
The record has already been broken – but it is about to be shattered.
This isn’t the kind of record you wish to remember and tell your grandchildren about. This is no tale of great sporting achievement like Usain Bolt smashing his way into the Olympic record books. No, this is something entirely more sombre.
I’m in the Arctic as part of a Greenpeace crew to bear witness to this year’s sea ice minimum – the moment of the year when the extent of Arctic sea ice is at its lowest. And very soon we expect to hear news of a new record, breaking the one set in 2007 – the lowest ever recorded sea ice minimum.
If current trends continue, the Arctic Ocean – which some research suggests has not been ice free for many thousands of years – is likely to see ice free summers within the next decade.
The melting is happening much faster than previously predicted by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, whose models estimate ice free summers by the end of the century.
Why does this matter? Well, just as some people say that distant rainforests are the lungs of the world, regulating the air that we breathe; the Arctic is a vital organ which keeps our atmosphere cool by reflecting the rays of the sun back into space, regulating our weather systems…
Read Full Article and Learn More, Greenpeace
Record minimum for Arctic sea ice, BBC News
Arctic sea ice has reached its minimum extent for the year, setting a record for the lowest summer cover since satellite data collection began.
