Arctic sea ice cover reaches minimum extent for 2009

October 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The extent of the Arctic Sea ice this year or the area covered by floating ice was the third lowest since satellite measurements were first made in 1979. The ice area at minimum was an increase from the past two years, but still well below the average for the past 30 years.

October 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Arctic sea ice extent in 2009 was the third lowest since satellite measurements were first made in 1979. The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado, said its annual end-of-summer observation showed the North Pole ice sheet covered 5.36 million square kilometres.

September 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - New findings by scientists indicate that that Arctic ice would last decades longer than thought, and the region won't experience ice-free summers until 2030 or 2040. Some models had previously predicted that the Arctic could be ice free in summer by as soon as 2013, due to rising temperatures from global warming.

September 17th, 2009 Arctic sea ice melt still heavy, but no recordWASHINGTON — The summer melt of Arctic sea ice wasn't quite as bad this year as the last two years. But it still ranked as the third biggest melt on record.

September 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - If a new research is anything to go by, then the Arctic as we know it may soon be a thing of the past, with global warming causing dramatic biological responses in the region. The research was led by Eric Post, associate professor of biology at Penn State University, along with a large, international team that carried out ecosystem-wide studies of the biological response to Arctic warming during the fourth International Polar Year, which ended in 2008.

September 10th, 2009 Effects of Arctic warming seen as widespreadWASHINGTON — Arctic warming is affecting plants, birds, animals and insects as ice melts and the growing season changes, scientists report in a new review of the many impacts climate change is having on the far north. As the global climate changes, the Arctic Circle has been warming faster than other regions and scientists have documented a series of affects on wildlife in the region.

July 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A small NASA aircraft has completed its first successful science flight in partnership with the University of Colorado at Boulder as part of an expedition to study the receding Arctic sea ice and improve understanding of its life cycle and the long-term stability of the Arctic ice cover. NASA's Characterization of Arctic Sea Ice Experiment, known as CASIE, began a series of unmanned aircraft system flights in coordination with satellites.

July 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Data from a NASA Earth-orbiting spacecraft has revealed a dramatic thinning of Arctic sea ice between the winters of 2004 and 2008, with thin seasonal ice replacing thick older ice as the dominant type for the first time on record. The new results provide further evidence for the rapid, ongoing transformation of the Arctic's ice cover.

July 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - An analysis by scientists has suggested that the Arctic was an enclosed freshwater lake until about 38 million years ago, when tectonic activity caused it to undergo a transition to an ocean. Recent studies have suggested that beginning about 44 million years ago the Arctic underwent a transition from lake to ocean conditions.

July 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study by scientists has shown a dramatic increase in the amount of fresh water in the Arctic Ocean. Fresh water flowing into or out of the Arctic Ocean plays an important role in ocean circulation and may be a factor in the response of the world ocean to climate change.

May 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new study, researchers in Canada are reporting for the first time that high mercury levels in certain Arctic seals appear to be linked to vanishing sea ice caused by global warming. The study, by scientist Gary Stern and his colleagues, provides a new insight into the impact of climate change on Arctic marine life.

April 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research has determined that increased growth in Antarctic sea ice during the past 30 years is a result of changing weather patterns caused by the ozone hole. The research, done by scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and NASA, indicates that while there has been a dramatic loss of Arctic sea ice, Antarctic sea ice has increased by a small amount as a result of the ozone hole delaying the impact of greenhouse gas increases on the climate of the continent.

April 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Latest satellite imagery shows that the Arctic is virtually teetering on a layer of thin ice, not to speak of its shrinking ice area over the decade. Researchers from NASA and University of Colorado-Boulder (CUB), who have been tracking Arctic sea ice cover with satellites since 1979, found that the winter of 2008-09 was the fifth lowest maximum ice extent on record.

April 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - New evidence from NASA and satellite observations has shown that the decade-long trend of shrinking sea ice cover in the Arctic is continuing, with the ice cap thinning as well. In recent years, Arctic sea ice has been declining at a surprising rate.

March 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The combined land and ocean surface average temperature for February was the ninth warmest since records began in 1880, according to an analysis by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The analysis in NOAA's National Climatic Data Centre (NCDC) global reports are based on preliminary data, which are subject to revision.