According to the NSIDC report, the sea ice extent in the Kara and Barents seas is continuing to show a pattern of below average ice extent as was seen throughout the winter of 2015-2016. Sea ice is also below average in the Bering Sea and the East Greenland Sea.
Based on DMSP F-18 satellite data, as well as other supporting data sources, the sea ice extent across the Arctic was 4.63 million square miles, an unbelievable 224,000 square miles below the previous record low for the month of May, set in 2004.
If the figures were compared to the 1981-2010 average, the sea ice extent is a whopping 537,000 square miles below average. To look at it in another way, the missing sea ice is twice the size of the state of Texas, reports Mashable. “I think people have a hard time getting a grasp on how big a loss this is,” NSIDC director Mark Serreze told Mashable in an interview. “This is a lot of real estate.”
Sea ice extent and Arctic Amplification
May 2016 sea ice loss was the fourth month this year where a monthly record was set. The other months included January, February, and April. In May, the Arctic was losing about 23,600 square miles (61,000 square kilometers) of ice every day, The melting of the sea ice poses some long-term threats to our climate, more than people may realize.
Sea ice plays a huge role in reflecting solar radiation away from the Earth, protecting the planet from becoming overheated. As climate change warms the ocean and melts the sea ice, the Arctic becomes darker, losing its reflective ability, more heat is absorbed, causing even warmer ocean temperatures. This creates a feedback loop called Polar or Arctic amplification.
Let’s put Arctic amplification into an easily understandable scenario. Think of the Arctic and its ice cover as a giant refrigerator. In this case, the sea ice is keeping the underlying water cold because the ice is doing its job of reflecting away the heat of the sun from the ocean’s waters. But, just like a refrigerator, if someone leaves the door open, everything inside gets warm and goes bad. Or in the case of the Arctic, if the ice melts, it won’t be able to protect the ocean waters from heating up.
Arctic amplification is an anticipated warming because it is so much larger than the warming being seen in the lower latitudes, but it may further accelerate global warming well beyond the confines of the Arctic region. Climate scientists with NSIDC have analyzed observations and model simulations looking for the signs of Arctic amplification, and they have found them. Their analysis also indicates that as the sea ice cover continues to shrink, Arctic amplification will grow.
How much will Arctic amplification effect our climate and weather patterns? We will explore this in future articles, especially as we ease into a possible La Nina ENSO phase. There are already some unsettling ramifications in the below average sea ice extent, and this affects the melting of Greenland’s ice cover as well as sea level rise.
