Tara Rudo
2:20pm- 8/28/2012
It is not a surprise to many to hear that the Arctic Sea Ice continues to melt at alarming levels and this article brings in data to prove how dramatic this melt is. The CU-Boulder research team has noted that the lowest point the ice has melted was in September of 2007 and this year the ice has already surpassed that melting point in mid August and they expect the melting to continue well into September. There was a storm in early August which broke up some ice but most scientists believe the ice continues to melt due to greenhouse gasses released into the atmosphere. Something that I found interesting in the article is about how this once ancient Arctic ice has been replaced by thin ice that has survived maybe one melting season and this makes the ice very weak and brittle. Arctic ice is important because it help regulate global temperature but with the melting occurring at more alarming levels, the open ocean regions absorb sunlight which is what is creating the global warming effect. Scientists say that 2012 is just another year in the sequence of this ice melting and it is only going to get worse in future years. Research is being conducted by a NASA-funded group to deploy ocean buoys and satellites to better understand the changes that are occurring in the Arctic. This is an important issue that is developing because it is happening at a rapid rate and changes need to be made in human behavior and encourage more education on these topics. Yes, that will not halt the melting or global warming but it is better than what we are doing now.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120827130726.htm
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