Arctic Update 2: "a moment of terrible significance"

Having managed to beat the nationals in their on-line coverage of the National Snow and Ice Data Center winter Sea Ice report for the Arctic, here's the best of coverage they produced, together with a few more pertinent points.

Critical is this story from The Guardian under the headline


Thinning Arctic sea ice alarms experts. Volume of Arctic sea ice last summer may have been lowest


It is important for two reasons. First, it reports on the volume of ice, rather than the surface area, reflecting the issue of the age of the ice and its resistance to melting mentioned yesterday and here in a posting dealing with the end of Summer 2008 data. Volume is arguably the more definitive measure as large areas of new ice come and go each year. The Guardian reports

'a dramatic loss of the thicker "multi-year" ice in recent years, particularly after the summer of 2007, when the sea ice lost an area the size of Alaska in a single season.

'In 2008, the NSIDC reported that summer sea ice area recovered by 9% but was still the second lowest recorded. However, based on the latest data about the much greater area of thin first-year ice and losses of multi-year ice, especially that of five years or more, they believe that in volume terms last summer was the lowest since records began in the 1930s – and probably for at least 700 years and possibly up to 8,000 years, said Walt Meier, a research scientist at the Boulder-based centre. "Our estimate is that it was probably the lowest volume on record," Meier told the Guardian. "Certainly 2007 and 2008 [were] the two lowest [years for] volume and extent."'

The other reason this piece is worth a look is for the very graphic animation showing the loss of multi-year ice. No time line though to put it in context, so best to have a look at the graphic graphics at the end of the NSIDC report itself too.


Equally important is this momentous leading article from The Times. It heads up a sober and apocalyptic warning that we must act urgently under the headline


A Sudden Chill
An ice bridge in Antarctica has disappeared from the map. This is a defining moment that means the world must move much faster against climate change

'The collapse of an ice bridge yesterday, in the remote vastness of the Antarctic, was a moment of terrible significance. It matters much more than its size may immediately suggest. This 25-mile strip of ice is believed to underpin the enormous Wilkins ice shelf, one of ten Antarctic ice shelves that have been in place for 10,000 years, but which have shrunk or collapsed in the past half-century. There is no longer any reasonable doubt that climate change is the cause: temperatures have risen by 2.5C (4.5F) in the Antarctic Peninsula in 50 years, faster than the global average.'

As has been argued repeatedly here in the prognosticator it continues:

'What is most alarming about the events in the Antarctic is their speed, which has taken scientists by surprise.'

And for the apocalyptic warning - don't forget this is The Times - get this:

'The disappearance of parts of Antarctica from the map is a warning that the world should not ignore. The need for polar research and for concerted action against climate change has never been greater. In Bonn tomorrow, 175 countries conclude climate change talks that are intended to help to devise a new climate pact in the run-up to the crucial UN summit in Copenhagen at the end of this year. But the pace is glacial. President Obama warned on his sixth day in office that unchecked climate change could lead to “irreversible catastrophe”. Those were strong words. They need to be matched by dramatic action to move to a more carbon-neutral world. Events in Antarctica may seem remote: but they should send a chill through all of us.'

Meanwhile even The Daily Telegraph offered us

Arctic will be ice-free within a decade

'Records for the Arctic only go back as far as 1979, when it became possible to collect data from space, however scientists are confident that the current levels of ice are lower than they have been for at least a century from observational records.

'"It could be several hundred thousand years ago the last time we were ice free, it was certainly seven to eight hundred years since we have had close to conditions like we have now," '

'He said the melting of the Arctic is happening much faster than previously anticipated because of man made climate change.

'"Things are happening much faster than the climate models suggested so I think change is coming to the Arctic, particularly the Arctic Sea much more quickly than people had expected."'

And this telling quote at the end

'"It is important that people are aware and understand that the Arctic is the canary in the coal mine in terms of climate. I think it is a warning of what may be to come in other parts of the world," he said.'

Finally here's some pretty straight talking from WWF under the banner

Polar bears and penguins 'just tip of climate change iceberg'

“What is happening at the poles will control the world’s climate. If we do not stop the poles from melting, the whole world will feel it, in the form of runaway warming and rising waters.”

Right now the Catlin Arctic Survey expedition is sampling the thickness of Arctic sea ice. The expedition, partly sponsored by WWF, is likely to confirm scientists’ fears that the older, thicker ice is disappearing. This has led them to predict that the summer sea ice could disappear within a generation, leading to catastrophic consequences for the entire ecosystem, everything from single celled animals to whales.

“The Ministers meeting today in Washington have a special responsibility to the world,” said Mr Hamilton.

Meanwhile all eyes must now be on the Larsen C Ice Shelf. If that goes, the sea level rises really will be apocalyptic.

Take your pick from further coverage here. Or google it up - stories are coming in continuously

Associated Press Arctic sea ice thinnest ever going into spring

San Fransisco Chronicle Arctic ice getting thinner, fading fast

ABC Ice bridge collapse sparks fresh climate change concerns

CCTV (Xinhua News Agency) U.S. calls for more protection for poles (with a nice picture of an iceberg)