Arctic Sea Ice Melted to Lowest Extent Ever Recorded

Scientists studying Arctic sea ice have recorded the lowest extent ever recorded since 1979. According to the University of Colorado Boulder’s National Snow and Ice data Center, on Aug. 26, the Arctic sea ice extent fell to 1.58 million square miles, or 4.10 million square kilometers. The number is 27,000 square miles, or 70,000 square kilometers below the record low daily sea ice extent set Sept. 18, 2007. Since the summer Arctic sea ice minimum normally does not occur until the melt season ends in mid- to late September, the CU-Boulder research team expects the sea ice extent to continue to dwindle for the next two or three weeks. Since 1979 Arctic sea Ice has been measured using satellite technology. Most scientists concur that the shrinking Arctic ice has a direct correlation to warming temperatures caused by an increase in human produced greenhouse gases. On Sept. 18, 2007, the September minimum extent of Arctic sea ice shattered all satellite records, reaching a five-day running average of 1.61 million square miles, or 4.17 million square kilometers. Compared to the long-term minimum average from 1979 to 2000, the 2007 minimum extent was lower by about a million square miles -- an area about the same as Alaska and Texas combined, or 10 United Kingdoms. Scientists say Arctic sea ice is important because it keeps the polar region cold and helps moderate global climate -- some have dubbed it "Earth's air conditioner." While the bright surface of Arctic sea ice reflects up to 80 percent of the sunlight back to space, the increasing amounts of open ocean there -- which absorb about 90 percent of the sunlight striking the Arctic -- have created a positive feedback effect, causing the ocean to heat up and contribute to increased sea ice melt.