Captain_of_Crunch
YVdpep_re64
Current conditions in the Arctic:
-2016 finished on a record low sea ice extent of 12.5 million sq km, with ice cover significantly lower in the north-east Arctic Ocean around Svalbard and Franz Jozef Land, as well as the Bering Straight.
-Ice thickness also remains very low with 33% of arctic sea ice < 0.5 meters.
-Sea water remains very warm in the areas fringing sea ice, in many areas > 4 Degrees C above normal.
-Sea ice extent should reach a maximum in mid/late March.
Current conditions in the Antarctic:
-Similar to the Arctic, sea ice extent at the end of 2016 was at a record low of 5.8 million sq km. This contrasts with a sea ice extent of 9.1 million sq km just three years ago.
-Sea ice is well below normal in the McMurdo Sound (South Pacific) and Amery Ice Shelf (South Indian) regions.
-Melting should continue until early March.
I think this will be a defining year for the Arctic and Antarctic. There are some predictions that the Arctic may be virtually entirely ice free, based mainly on the very low percentage of thick, multi-year ice as well as various feedback loops. What effect (if any) this may have on our climate would be very difficult to predict.
Resources:
-Sea Ice extent: Charctic - http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/charctic-interactive-sea-ice-graph/
-Global temperatures and anomalies: http://cci-reanalyzer.org/wx/DailySummary/#SEAICE-SNOW
-Weather Charts: wxcharts.eu
-2016 finished on a record low sea ice extent of 12.5 million sq km, with ice cover significantly lower in the north-east Arctic Ocean around Svalbard and Franz Jozef Land, as well as the Bering Straight.
-Ice thickness also remains very low with 33% of arctic sea ice < 0.5 meters.
-Sea water remains very warm in the areas fringing sea ice, in many areas > 4 Degrees C above normal.
-Sea ice extent should reach a maximum in mid/late March.
Current conditions in the Antarctic:
-Similar to the Arctic, sea ice extent at the end of 2016 was at a record low of 5.8 million sq km. This contrasts with a sea ice extent of 9.1 million sq km just three years ago.
-Sea ice is well below normal in the McMurdo Sound (South Pacific) and Amery Ice Shelf (South Indian) regions.
-Melting should continue until early March.
I think this will be a defining year for the Arctic and Antarctic. There are some predictions that the Arctic may be virtually entirely ice free, based mainly on the very low percentage of thick, multi-year ice as well as various feedback loops. What effect (if any) this may have on our climate would be very difficult to predict.
Resources:
-Sea Ice extent: Charctic - http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/charctic-interactive-sea-ice-graph/
-Global temperatures and anomalies: http://cci-reanalyzer.org/wx/DailySummary/#SEAICE-SNOW
-Weather Charts: wxcharts.eu
