Ilulissat Icefjord a UNESCO World Heritage site in western Greenland. The Greenland ice sheet has continued to melt in the past four years with summer temperatures consistently above the long-term average since the mid 1990s. (AFP/Slim Allagui)
Apr 28, 2009
Extensive climate change is now affecting every form of life in the Arctic, according to a major new assessment by international polar scientists.
In
the past four years, air temperatures have increased, sea ice has
declined sharply, surface waters in the Arctic ocean have warmed and
permafrost is in some areas rapidly thawing.
In addition, says the report released today at a Norwegian government seminar, plants and trees are growing more vigorously, snow cover is decreasing 1-2% a year and glaciers are shrinking.
Scientists from Norway, Canada, Russia and the US contributed to the Arctic monitoring and assessment programme
(Amap) study, which says new factors such as "black carbon" - soot -
ozone and methane may now be contributing to global and arctic warming
as much as carbon dioxide.
"Black carbon and ozone in particular
have a strong seasonal pattern that makes their impacts particularly
important in the Arctic," it says.
The report's main findings are:
Land
Permafrost
is warming fast and at its margins thawing. Plants are growing more
vigorously and densely. In northern Alaska, temperatures have been
rising since the 1970s. In Russia, the tree line has advanced up hills
and mountains at 10 metres a year. Nearly all glaciers are decreasing
in mass, resulting in rising sea levels as the water drains to the
ocean.
Summer sea ice
The most striking change in the Arctic in recent years has been the reduction in summer sea ice in 2007.
This was 23% less than the previous record low of 5.6m sq kilometres in
2005, and 39% below the 1979-2000 average. New satellite data suggests
the ice is much thinner than it used to be.
For the first time in existing records, both the north-west and
north-east passages were ice-free in summer 2008. However, the 2008
winter ice extent was near the year long-term average.
Greenland
The
Greenland ice sheet has continued to melt in the past four years with
summer temperatures consistently above the long-term average since the
mid 1990s. In 2007, the area experiencing melt was 60% greater than in
1998. Melting lasted 20 days longer than usual at sea level and 53 days longer at 2-3,000m heights.
Warmer waters
In
2007, some ice-free areas were as much as 5C warmer than the long-term
average. Arctic waters appear to have warmed as a result of the influx
of warmer waters from the Pacific and Atlantic. The loss of reflective,
white sea ice also means that more solar radiation is absorbed by the
dark water, heating surface layers further.
Black carbon
Black
carbon, or soot, is emitted from inefficient burning such as in diesel
engines or from the burning of crops. It is warming the Arctic by
creating a haze which absorbs sunlight, and it is also deposited on
snow, darkening the surface and causing more sunlight to be absorbed.
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Extensive climate change is now affecting every form of life in the Arctic, according to a major new assessment by international polar scientists.
In
the past four years, air temperatures have increased, sea ice has
declined sharply, surface waters in the Arctic ocean have warmed and
permafrost is in some areas rapidly thawing.
In addition, says the report released today at a Norwegian government seminar, plants and trees are growing more vigorously, snow cover is decreasing 1-2% a year and glaciers are shrinking.
Scientists from Norway, Canada, Russia and the US contributed to the Arctic monitoring and assessment programme
(Amap) study, which says new factors such as "black carbon" - soot -
ozone and methane may now be contributing to global and arctic warming
as much as carbon dioxide.
"Black carbon and ozone in particular
have a strong seasonal pattern that makes their impacts particularly
important in the Arctic," it says.
The report's main findings are:
Land
Permafrost
is warming fast and at its margins thawing. Plants are growing more
vigorously and densely. In northern Alaska, temperatures have been
rising since the 1970s. In Russia, the tree line has advanced up hills
and mountains at 10 metres a year. Nearly all glaciers are decreasing
in mass, resulting in rising sea levels as the water drains to the
ocean.
Summer sea ice
The most striking change in the Arctic in recent years has been the reduction in summer sea ice in 2007.
This was 23% less than the previous record low of 5.6m sq kilometres in
2005, and 39% below the 1979-2000 average. New satellite data suggests
the ice is much thinner than it used to be.
For the first time in existing records, both the north-west and
north-east passages were ice-free in summer 2008. However, the 2008
winter ice extent was near the year long-term average.
Greenland
The
Greenland ice sheet has continued to melt in the past four years with
summer temperatures consistently above the long-term average since the
mid 1990s. In 2007, the area experiencing melt was 60% greater than in
1998. Melting lasted 20 days longer than usual at sea level and 53 days longer at 2-3,000m heights.
Warmer waters
In
2007, some ice-free areas were as much as 5C warmer than the long-term
average. Arctic waters appear to have warmed as a result of the influx
of warmer waters from the Pacific and Atlantic. The loss of reflective,
white sea ice also means that more solar radiation is absorbed by the
dark water, heating surface layers further.
Black carbon
Black
carbon, or soot, is emitted from inefficient burning such as in diesel
engines or from the burning of crops. It is warming the Arctic by
creating a haze which absorbs sunlight, and it is also deposited on
snow, darkening the surface and causing more sunlight to be absorbed.
Extensive climate change is now affecting every form of life in the Arctic, according to a major new assessment by international polar scientists.
In
the past four years, air temperatures have increased, sea ice has
declined sharply, surface waters in the Arctic ocean have warmed and
permafrost is in some areas rapidly thawing.
In addition, says the report released today at a Norwegian government seminar, plants and trees are growing more vigorously, snow cover is decreasing 1-2% a year and glaciers are shrinking.
Scientists from Norway, Canada, Russia and the US contributed to the Arctic monitoring and assessment programme
(Amap) study, which says new factors such as "black carbon" - soot -
ozone and methane may now be contributing to global and arctic warming
as much as carbon dioxide.
"Black carbon and ozone in particular
have a strong seasonal pattern that makes their impacts particularly
important in the Arctic," it says.
The report's main findings are:
Land
Permafrost
is warming fast and at its margins thawing. Plants are growing more
vigorously and densely. In northern Alaska, temperatures have been
rising since the 1970s. In Russia, the tree line has advanced up hills
and mountains at 10 metres a year. Nearly all glaciers are decreasing
in mass, resulting in rising sea levels as the water drains to the
ocean.
Summer sea ice
The most striking change in the Arctic in recent years has been the reduction in summer sea ice in 2007.
This was 23% less than the previous record low of 5.6m sq kilometres in
2005, and 39% below the 1979-2000 average. New satellite data suggests
the ice is much thinner than it used to be.
For the first time in existing records, both the north-west and
north-east passages were ice-free in summer 2008. However, the 2008
winter ice extent was near the year long-term average.
Greenland
The
Greenland ice sheet has continued to melt in the past four years with
summer temperatures consistently above the long-term average since the
mid 1990s. In 2007, the area experiencing melt was 60% greater than in
1998. Melting lasted 20 days longer than usual at sea level and 53 days longer at 2-3,000m heights.
Warmer waters
In
2007, some ice-free areas were as much as 5C warmer than the long-term
average. Arctic waters appear to have warmed as a result of the influx
of warmer waters from the Pacific and Atlantic. The loss of reflective,
white sea ice also means that more solar radiation is absorbed by the
dark water, heating surface layers further.
Black carbon
Black
carbon, or soot, is emitted from inefficient burning such as in diesel
engines or from the burning of crops. It is warming the Arctic by
creating a haze which absorbs sunlight, and it is also deposited on
snow, darkening the surface and causing more sunlight to be absorbed.
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