Arctic Sea Ice Continues Its Winter Wane

Published March 21, 2009 @ 09:47PM PT

The winter of 2008-2009 may mark another near-record low for Arctic sea ice. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, the average sea ice extent for February was the fourth-lowest in the 30-year satellite record.

At 14.84 million square kilometers (5.73 million square miles) in February 2009, the boreal ice cap was 800,000 square kilometers (309,000 square miles) less than the average extent of Arctic sea ice from 1979 to 2000, and 140,000 square kilometers (54,000 square miles) less than for February 2008.

(The NASA image above is based on measurements taken by the agency's Aqua satellite, on March 15, 2009.)

"Including 2009, the downward linear trend in February ice extent over the satellite record stands at –2.8% per decade," reports the NSIDC -- as the center's chart, below, illustrates. If this drop bears out once the measurements for March have been fully established, it will be another sign that whatever the weather (this past winter was a chilly one in the Northern Hemisphere), the climate is changing for the hotter.

February Arctic Sea Ice Average, 1979-2009

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At about 1 million sq km every thirty years, we might expect another four centuries before the ice disappears totally, but in fact, the decline is not linear. We will be certain to see steep declines over the next few years as summer ice essentially disappears totally. A northwest passage through the winter extent may be possible within a decade or two at most. This may be exactly what the Russians want.

Posted by Andrew Chow on 04/05/2009 @ 03:18PM PT
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