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2005 2007 |
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Record Low Summer Ice Cover on the Arctic Ocean Maps for the months of September 2005 and 2007
Images courtesy of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, Boulder, Colorado |
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The minimum area covered by sea ice in September (at the end of the summer melt season)fell by 23% from 2005 to 2007. A purple line marks the long term average position of the ice edge in September on both maps. In 2007, the extent of ice cover was 39% less than the typical extent observed in September from 1979 to 2000.
Scientist Mark Serreze of the National Snow and Ice Data Center said, “The sea ice cover is in a downward spiral and may have passed the point of no return. As the years go by, we are losing more and more ice in summer, and growing back less and less ice in winter. We may well see an ice-free Arctic Ocean in summer within our lifetimes.” He concluded, “The implications for global climate, as well as Arctic animals and people, are disturbing.”
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