Sea ice melted from more of the northern oceans this summer than scientists have seen since satellite measurements began in 1979.
At this rate, summertime sea ice could disappear from Earth’s northern reaches by 2030, researchers with National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder said Monday.
About 1.7 million square miles of ice covered the Arctic Ocean at the end of September, NSIDC reported. On average between 1979 and 2000, sea ice spread across 2.6 million square miles.
This summer’s vanishing ice shattered the last low year – 2.2 million square miles in 2005 – by 23 percent, NSIDC said.
The iconic Northwest Passage – a sea route across the top of the globe, along Canada’s northern archipelago – has been open for weeks.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration also reported sea ice data Monday.
NASA satellite measurements show thick, multiyear ice in the Arctic Ocean being replaced by thin, seasonal ice.
NASA said that means “more efficient melting and further ice reductions each summer.”
The Arctic’s ice melt has happened far faster than any computer models predicted, said Mark Serreze, a researcher at the snow and ice data center.
“We may well see an ice-free Arctic Ocean in summer within our lifetimes,” Serreze said.
Katy Human: 303-954-1910 or khuman@denverpost.com
