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The thickness of Arctic sea ice plummeted last winter

Started by thehotaisle · 8 months ago

The BBC have reported that the thickness of Arctic sea ice “plummeted” last winter, thinning by as much as 49 centimetres (1.6ft) in some regions, satellite data has revealed. A study by UK researchers showed that the ice thickness had been fairly constant for th ... Continue reading »

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  • POLAR EXPLORER PEN HADOW SETS DATE FOR SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF ARCTIC SEA ICE AS
    FEARS GROW OF IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE

    Leading polar explorer Pen Hadow today confirmed the go-ahead for a major
    scientific expedition to measure the thickness of the remaining permanent Arctic
    Ocean sea ice.
    Credit: Polar Bears - Voyage Concepts Credit Martin Hartley/Catlin Arctic Survey

    This pioneering survey, which starts in February 2009, is a collaboration with leading
    scientists to help them more accurately assess the state of the
    rapidly receding Arctic sea ice in a fragile region already affected by global
    warming.

    Current estimates as to how long ice will be a year-round feature around the
    North Pole vary considerably, with scientific predictions ranging between five and
    100 years. More accurate data, measured at the surface itself, is essential if
    scientists and decision-makers are to fully anticipate the potentially devastating
    impacts of near total sea ice loss each summer on millions of people across the
    world.

    The project, to be known as the Catlin Arctic Survey, has amassed substantial
    financial backing for the £3m survey despite the gloom currently surrounding the
    world economy and has secured support from UNEP (United Nations Environment
    Programme), WWF International and the Royal patronage of HRH The Prince of
    Wales. Hadow and his technical team have developed new equipment
    specifically designed for the project, including an ice-penetrating radar and a
    data uplink system to transmit its findings to scientists direct from the ice via
    satellite.

    On completion of the scientific project, the findings will be made available to
    inform international decision-makers gathering at the United Nations Climate
    Change Conference of Parties, at Copenhagen, in 2009.
    The team of three highly-experienced explorers – Ann Daniels and Martin Hartley
    as well as Hadow - will be travelling from mid-February to late-May, taking millions
    of readings of the thickness of the floating ice over a 1200 kilometres (750 miles)
    route. They will be pulling sledges and swimming between ice-floes from their
    start-point 470 miles offshore of northern Canada to the North Geographic Pole in
    temperatures from 0°C to -50°C.

    http://www.catlinarcticsurvey.com/

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