North Pole Could Be Ice-Free in 2008

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	North Pole Could Be Ice-Free in 2008

nohobot

4-25-2008 3:32 PM

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new scientist, science, climate change, ice, global warming, climate, north pole, arctic, environment

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<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/fde9ef3b-9743-4094-9fc0-857c8f4e8a0d/2CFB3642-9922-4FA3-B32A-121AA66C3C80/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/dn13779-north-pole-could-be-ice-free-in-2008.html?feedId=online-news_rss20" href="http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/dn13779-north-pole-could-be-ice-free-in-2008.html?feedId=online-news_rss20" style="font-size: 11px;">environment.newscientist.com</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/dn13779-north-pole-could-be-ice-free-in-2008.html?feedId=online-news_rss20"><P>You know when climate change is biting hard when instead of a vast expanse of snow the North Pole is a vast expanse of water. This year, for the first time, Arctic scientists are preparing for that possibility.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/dn13779-north-pole-could-be-ice-free-in-2008.html?feedId=online-news_rss20"><P>In September 2007, Arctic sea ice <A href="http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/dn12724-arctic-ice-shrinks-to-record-low.html">reached a record low</A>, <A target="ns" href="http://www.newscientist.com/blog/environment/2007/09/arctic-north-west-passage-melts-for.html?feedId=earth_rss20">opening up the fabled North-West passage</A> that runs from Greenland to Alaska.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/dn13779-north-pole-could-be-ice-free-in-2008.html?feedId=online-news_rss20"><P>Arctic ice at its maximum in March, but that maximum is declining by 44,000 km<SUP>2</SUP> per year on average, the NSIDC has calculated (see graph, top right). That corresponds to an area roughly twice the size of New Jersey.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/dn13779-north-pole-could-be-ice-free-in-2008.html?feedId=online-news_rss20"><div align="center"><img src="http://content9.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/environment.newscientist.com/img/8CDE3506-6E1E-4FC8-BFD0-05DFCF376BD2" alt="Arctic ice at its maximum in March, but that maximum is declining by 44,000 km<SUP>2</SUP> per year on average (Image: NSIDC)" /></div></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/dn13779-north-pole-could-be-ice-free-in-2008.html?feedId=online-news_rss20"><P>Despite its news value in the media, the North Pole being ice free is not in itself significant. To scientists, Serreze points out, "this is just another point on the globe". What is worrying, though, is the fact that multi-year ice – the stuff that doesn't melt in the summer – is not piling up as fast as Arctic ice generally is melting.</P></blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/2CFB3642-9922-4FA3-B32A-121AA66C3C80/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content6.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>