Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I just looked through the archives on that site and noticed that in the 1990s the summers were almost always above the mean and the 2000s are mostly at or below it.
I just looked through the archives on that site and noticed that in the 1990s the summers were almost always above the mean and the 2000s are mostly at or below it.
Is there a site that shows ice data for the 90s?
Will this help? It is not quite up to date, as the ice extent is now below 4 million square kilometers..
I just looked through the archives on that site and noticed that in the 1990s the summers were almost always above the mean and the 2000s are mostly at or below it.
Is there a site that shows ice data for the 90s?
This link allows you to compare sea ice cover between any two dates since 1979
Will this help? It is not quite up to date, as the ice extent is now below 4 million square kilometers..
It actually is up to date, in that it shows the average sea ice extent for the whole month of August. Since it was below 4 million square kilometers for only a few days, the average for the month will be quite a bit higher.
And about the temperatures, yes, it is warmer than average above 80 degrees North, but just the same the ice extent has stabilized. Perhaps the subfreezing temperatures are just cold enough to halt the melting by this point ? Or maybe there is some colder weather in lower latitudes, or something to do with air or water currents. Perhaps someone could investigate what's going on in that regard.
And about the temperatures, yes, it is warmer than average above 80 degrees North, but just the same the ice extent has stabilized. Perhaps the subfreezing temperatures are just cold enough to halt the melting by this point ? Or maybe there is some colder weather in lower latitudes, or something to do with air or water currents. Perhaps someone could investigate what's going on in that regard.
I'm thinking the cause and effect might be the other way around. The unusually warm Arctic temperature reflect how little sea ice there is. As I said earlier, air above large expanses of open water can't fall above freezing, and air above melting ice will usually be around freezing. Once the sun drops in the Arctic about now, radiational cooling (infafared radiation emitted to space) will cool it rapidly. The Arctic Ocean can't cool in such a way as long as it's not frozen. I read somewhere that recently it's been cloudy in much of the Arctic, preventing more cooling. Some land Arctic stations are reporting colder temperatures. Norlisk still has highs in the 50s forecast, but Alert, Nunavut at 82°N has highs in the 20s. But I guess the lack of anything nearby warmer than freezing is preventing more melting, though of August was around freezing, the melt was coming from sea temperatures. Found a graph of sea surface temperatures:
Claims to be from NOAA. 2007 and 2012 stand out as warmer years. The last half decade or so has seen consistently warmer sea temperatures. Perhaps each year has been enough to melt a little bit more sea ice (as the volume graphs show), and as long as the sea temperatures stay this warm more sea ice will disappear except maybe right by Greenland the Canadian islands. Look at Arctic ocean temperature anamolies gives a more informative picture:
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
? Or maybe there is some colder weather in lower latitudes, or something to do with air or water currents. Perhaps someone could investigate what's going on in that regard.
