The Associated Press
8/26/2008 -
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Arctic Ocean sea ice has melted to the second
lowest minimum since satellite observations began, according to
scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
Sea ice melt on Monday exceeded the low recorded in 2005, which had held second place.
With several weeks left in the melt season, ice in summer 2008 has
a chance to diminish below the record low set last year, according to
scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
"This is not surprising, but it is alarming," said Deborah
Williams, a former Interior Department special assistant for Alaska.
"This was a relatively cool summer, and to have ice decrease to the
second lowest minimum on record demonstrates that global warming's
ongoing impact is profound."
The National Snow and Ice Data Center, based at the University of
Colorado, reported the ice Monday melted below the 2005 minimum of 2.05
million square miles set on Sept. 21 that year. Exact figures will be
released Wednesday.
Through the beginning of the melt season in May until early August,
daily ice extent for 2008 closely tracked the values for 2005, the
center said.
In early August 2005, the decline began to slow. In August 2008,
however, the decline has remained steadily downward at a brisk pace.
The most recent ice retreat primarily reflects melt in the Chukchi
Sea off Alaska's northwest coast and the East Siberian Seas off the
coast of eastern Russia, according to the center. The Chukchi Sea is
home to one of two populations of Alaska polar bears.
Federal observers flying for a whale survey on Aug. 16 spotted nine
polar bears swimming in open ocean in the Chukchi Sea. The bears were
15 to 65 miles off the Alaska shore. Some were swimming north,
apparently trying to reach the polar ice edge, which on that day was
400 miles away.
Summer sea ice last year shrunk to about 1.65 million square miles,
nearly 40 percent less than the long-term average between 1979 and
2000. Most climate modelers predict a continued downward spiral,
possibly with an Arctic Ocean that's ice free during summer months by
2030 or sooner.
