Arctic Speed-Melt Record

Although 2008 did not set a record for minimum sea ice it did set a record for speed melting. Arctic sea ice declined at a rate of 32,700 square miles a day in August. That's about the size of Maine. Every day. And that's compared to 24,400 square miles a day lost in August 2007—the record holder for minimum sea ice.

The 2008 results were surprising, says NASA, because last winter had near-normal ice cover. "We saw a lot of cooling in the Arctic that we believe was associated with La Niña," says Joey Comiso of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. "Sea ice in Canada had recovered and even expanded in the Bering Sea and Baffin Bay. Overall, sea ice recovered to almost average levels. That was a good sign that this year might not be as bad as last year."

But alas the sprint in August—the fastest-ever melt—undid the gains of the winter. Here's what it looked like:

"Based on what we've learned over the last 30 years, we know that the perennial ice cover is now in trouble," Comiso says. "You need more than just one winter of cooling for the ice to recover to the average extent observed since the measurements began. But the trend is going the other way. A warming Arctic causes the surface water to get warmer, which delays the onset of freeze up in the winter and leads to a shorter period of ice growth. Without the chance to thicken, sea ice becomes thinner and more vulnerable to continued melt."

Julia Whitty is Mother Jones' environmental correspondent, lecturer, and 2008 winner of the Kiriyama Prize and the John Burroughs Medal Award.

Comments

The melt is good. Drilling for oil can soon commence by Mother Russia over all of the Artic. Our scientists are working on making it melt faster. Can also grow more wheat in Siberia. This "global warming" is all good for Mother Russia. But not so good for you Americans, from what I hear. Too bad, some winners and losers in life.

Posted by: Boris Y. on 09/28/08 at 5:45 PM Respond

You are wrong Global warming is real

Posted by: Frank on 09/29/08 at 6:08 AM Respond

Poor Boris. Check out the billions of tons of methane under Siberia & offshore, friend, about to be released. Mother Russia farts, the whole world dies. No winners here, earthling.

Posted by: tiresias on 09/29/08 at 8:29 AM Respond

The Europeans like our "farts" tiresias. They burn it to keep them warm in the very cold winters. We are so rich now, that Amerika can not too anything but make global warming with their hot air talks. Amerika should stay in their part of the world and leave us alone. Obama understands this. McCain is a warmonger.

Posted by: Boris on 09/29/08 at 10:26 AM Respond

Temperatures dropped to 31 degrees in the Ukiah Valley on Saturday night and early Sunday morning, the coldest Oct. 12 morning since record keeping began in Ukiah in 1893, said Troy Nicolini, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Eureka. The previous record was 34 degrees in 1916.

Cold temperatures set several new record lows this weekend, including a low of 22 Saturday in downtown Pendleton that broke a 118 year-old record of 24.

Record lows started falling Thursday with a new low of 20 for Meacham, four degrees cooler than the previous record from 2006, according to information from the Web site for the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Pendleton.

Heppner and Long Creek then set new low temperatures Friday. Heppner hit 29, the coldest that date has seen since 1960 when it was 30; and Long Creek was 21, besting the 1987 record by four degrees.

Not by fire, but by ice. Don't be discourage, the ice is coming back.

Posted by: The ice man on 10/15/08 at 10:43 AM Respond