[Vision2020] NSIDC: August 2008 Record Arctic Ice Loss

[Ted Moffett]

After 2007's record setting low Arctic sea ice extent, over the winter
'07-'08 there was considerable recovery of the ice, which was claimed by
some skeptics of human induced climate change to demonstrate that the Arctic
warming trend and ice loss of recent decades were reversing.  I recall
specifically discussing this with one skeptic, and told them that one cold
winter does not demonstrate a long term trend.  Let's see what the Arctic
sea ice extent is in September 2008, when it reaches its maximum low, I
said.  So here's the current data, in part a result of August 2008 setting a
record for the extent of Arctic sea ice loss for that month.  The Arctic sea
ice has currently broken the 2005 second lowest sea ice extent record, and
still could possibly exceed 2008's low record.

It has been predicted by scientists studying the effects of human CO2
emissions on climate, since at least as early as the 1970s, given the
climate change models employed even then, primitive by today's standards,
that a phenomenon known as the Arctic polar amplification effect (this might
be labeled differently depending on the source) would induce
more temperature increases in the Arctic than at lower latitudes, and even
the Antarctic.  From the journal "Climate Dynamics" in 2003 on polar climate
amplification:

http://www.atmos.washington.edu/~bitz/HollandBitz.pdf
---------------------

The data so far generally supports the predictions regarding the Arctic
polar amplification effect.

Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett
----------------------

Information below on Arctic sea ice extent from the National Snow and Ice
Data Center:

http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/
 September 4, 2008 Record ice loss in August

Following a record rate of ice loss through the month of August, Arctic sea ice
extent <http://nsidc.org/cgi-bin/words/word.pl?ice extent> already stands as
the second-lowest on record, further reinforcing conclusions that the Arctic
sea ice cover is in a long-term state of decline. With approximately two
weeks left in the melt season, the possibility of setting a new record
annual minimum in September remains open.

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http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/images/daily_images/N_timeseries.png
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