THEME 4 - Climate change in the Arctic

CLick on picture to go to National Geographic's article

Photograph by Paul Nicklen

Arctic Circle Ice

The Arctic Ocean's sea ice is in a "death spiral" due to rising temperatures, scientists said in 2008. Many marine species, such as these narwhals swimming through a bay in Nunavut, Canada, depend on the ice throughout their life cycles. Experts predict that summer Arctic ice may completely disappear within a few decades.

The Oldest Arctic Sea is disappearing

Picture from nasa.org Jan 1980

Picture from nasa.org Jan 2012

Arctic sea ice before and after record low

 -interactive map

Arctic sea ice has reached its lowest ever recorded extent, in 'dramatic changes', which signal that man-made global warming is having a major impact on the polar region. Drag the slider across the map to see how the ice has shrunk between 1979 and 2012

 

 

 

Summer ice in the Arctic Ocean is vanishing rapidly

From www.economist.com Sep 22nd 2012

 

 

 Click in map to watch the video and read the article

 

 

  

 

Listen to the story:

Trying to Unravel the Mysteries of Arctic Warming

from www.npr.org

An iceberg is seen melting off the coast of Ammasalik, Greenland, in July 2007. This year, scientists say sea-ice extent in the Arctic has reached its lowest level since monitoring by satellite began in 1979, the result of rising temperatures.