Projecting sea ice minimums

Over at RealClimate, there is a discussion about projecting the summer sea ice minimum in the Arctic. As readers may recall, the 2007 minimum was unexpectedly low. 2008 was still worse than projected by the IPCC, but not as bad as 2007. All indications are that this year’s minimum will still be below even the most pessimistic IPCC projections.

In addition to being less extensive than before, the Arctic sea ice is also thinner and newer – less and less consists of multi-year ice, and an increasing share consists of ice that forms in the winter and vanishes during the summer months. All this is bad news for species that depend on the sea ice, such as polar bears.

Author: Milan

In the spring of 2005, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in International Relations and a general focus in the area of environmental politics. In the fall of 2005, I began reading for an M.Phil in IR at Wadham College, Oxford. Outside school, I am very interested in photography, writing, and the outdoors. I am writing this blog to keep in touch with friends and family around the world, provide a more personal view of graduate student life in Oxford, and pass on some lessons I've learned here.

3 thoughts on “Projecting sea ice minimums”

  1. Related posts:

    Math and sea ice
    * April 18, 2009

    Polar bears and climate change
    * January 19, 2009

    Evidence of a positive climate change feedback in the Arctic
    * December 18, 2008

    2008 Arctic sea ice minimum
    * September 17th, 2008

    Shifting baselines, oil and ice
    * August 7th, 2008

    Ice-free north pole in 2008?
    * June 29th, 2008

    Young ice
    * March 20th, 2008

    Fissure in the Beaufort ice pack
    * January 15th, 2008

    No Arctic summer ice in 2012-13?
    * December 12th, 2007

    Melting ice
    * August 29th, 2007

    Major climate change issues >> Science >> The arctic and antarctic

  2. July 15, 2009
    Update on the Arctic Melt Season

    The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) has released an update on the status of the Arctic ice melt season.

    As of July 10th, Arctic sea ice extent was running about 2.5 million kilometers below the 1979-2000 satellite measured mean, but still higher than the curve of the record low minimum sea ice extent from 2007.

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