Arctic Sea Ice Re-Freezing at Record Pace

Mrs Behavin

Mrs Behavin

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The record melting of Arctic sea ice observed this summer and fall led to record-low levels of ice in both September and October, but a record-setting pace of re-freezing in November, according to the NASA Earth Observatory. Some 58,000 square miles of ice formed per day for 10 days in late October and early November, a new record.

Still, the extent of sea ice recorded in November was well shy of the median extent observed over the past quarter century, as the image from Nov. 14 (above, right) shows. The dramatic increase in ice is evident, when compared to the record-low amount observed Sept. 16 (below, right). In both images, 100% sea ice is shown in white, and the yellow line encompasses the area ion which there was at least 15% ice cover in at least half of the 25-year record for the given month.

The record melting of Arctic sea ice this summer was widely viewed as a harbinger of global warming, though unusual wind patterns played a role and many factors affecting fluctuations in Arctic ice are poorly understood by scientists. Still, so much ice melted that the fabled Northwest passage opened for the first time in history, and the melting broke a record, set just two years ago and by a country mile, that at the time was seen as unprecedented and worrying.

The area of persistent open water north of Alaska and eastern Siberia, according to NASA, is unusual for this time of year, though not unprecedented. This area was also largely free of ice in November 2002 and especially November 2006.

Here's how NASA explains the record re-growth of ice over that 10-day period in October and November:

Record sea ice growth rates after a record low may sound surprising at first, but it is not completely unexpected. The more ice that survives the summer melt, the less open water there is for new ice to grow. When summertime ice extent hits a record low, on the other hand, large areas of open water provide room for the ice to grow once temperatures cool off enough. While summer warming of the upper ocean surface can cause wintertime sea ice regrowth to lag initially, as the fall season progresses and sunlight weakens, the rate of energy loss from the ocean increases. That heat loss coupled with a large area of open water creates ideal conditions for sea ice to form rapidly over large areas.
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Arctic Sea Ice Refreezes Slowly - Arctic Sea Ice - thedailygreen.com
 
In both images, 100% sea ice is shown in white, and the yellow line encompasses the area where the ground observers decided they couldn't hold it anymore.
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Sorry, couldn't resist.

Seriously... you're telling me after all this ice melting and the sea is rising, and earth is dying because we're killing it... that it's getting colder ... and the water is re-freezing!??!?!

Global warming my ass.
 
Yeah, global warming is a myth.:rolleyes:



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team of UK researchers claims to have new evidence that global warming is melting the ice in Antarctica faster than had previously been thought. Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (Bas) say the rise in sea levels around the world caused by the melting may have been under-estimated.
It is thought that over 13,000 sq km of sea ice in the Antarctic Peninsula has been lost over the last 50 years.
The findings were announced at a Climate Change Conference in Exeter.
Rising sea level
Professor Chris Rapley, director of (Bas), told the conference that Antarctica could become a "giant awakened", contributing heavily to rising sea levels.
Melting in the Antarctic Peninsula removes sea ice that once held back the movement of glaciers. As a result, glaciers flow into the ocean up to six times faster than before.
The other region in the continent affected by the changes is West Antarctica, where warmer sea water is thought to be eroding the ice from underneath.
In 2001, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicted the average global sea level would rise by between 11cm (4.3in) and 77cm (30.3in) by 2100 - but forecast that Antarctic's contribution would be small.
Ice chunks
Over the past five years, studies have found that melting Antarctic ice caps contribute at least 15% to the current global sea level rise of 2mm (0.08in) a year.
It is not known whether the melting is the result of a natural event or the result of global warming.
Professor Rapley said that if this was natural variability, it might be expected to be taking place in only a handful of places. However, studies had shown that it was happening in all three major ice streams in West Antarctica, he added.
Several major sections of Antarctic ice have broken off in the past decade.
The Larsen A ice shelf, which measured 1,600 sq km, broke off in 1995. The 1,100 sq km Wilkins ice shelf fell off in 1998 and the 13,500 sq km Larsen B dropped away in 2002.


BBC
 
What... ice doesn't ever melt? This is the only evidence we have of global warming? large chunks of an ice shelf break off?

Yeah... sorry. When the report says this

It is not known whether the melting is the result of a natural event or the result of global warming.
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I don't want to hear about it being about global warming. Scientists can't even be sure...
 
TheOriginalJames said:
I love it when you believe so firmly in it, but the only article you have as proof states it can't be determined either way.

If the earth is getting warmer, then why is it 24 degrees outside right now?
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Because its more complicated than that. The effect global warming is due to have on Britain means we'll experience bitter winters but Australian style temperatures with extreme droughts as well in Summer.
 
Peter Parka said:
Because its more complicated than that. The effect global warming is due to have on Britain means we'll experience bitter winters but Australian style temperatures with extreme droughts as well in Summer.
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Britain has never had bitter winters and hot summer and droughts before? I seem to remember WWII footage of soldiers laying in mounds of snow... but hey I guess that 1-2 degree difference they say we now have is really the cause of the same weather patterns.
 
We experienced our hottest ever summer a couple of years back with temperatures hitting 103 F. Our summers have been getting hotter and hotter. The cold winters wont start until the changing patterns have forced the warm gulf stream not to flow into British waters.
 
TheOriginalJames said:
Sorry, couldn't resist.

Seriously... you're telling me after all this ice melting and the sea is rising, and earth is dying because we're killing it... that it's getting colder ... and the water is re-freezing!??!?!

Global warming my ass.
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Wanna know something else I bet you haven't thought of? Know how when the ice caps melt, the sea's are gonna rise and the Eastern Seaboard is gonna disappear? Well, think about this.

Take a glass, fill it half way with ice. Now, add water until it's completely full. Now, when the ice melts, does the glass overflow?

No, it doesn't. The water from the melted ice takes the place the ice was in.
 
What is interesting to me, is that some think that the earth warming is supposed to melt everything. Global warming does not just make things warmer, it is alledged to affect the CLIMATE, which can in turn, thaw and freeze. MY opinion ehhh who cares...lol
 
dt3 said:
Wanna know something else I bet you haven't thought of? Know how when the ice caps melt, the sea's are gonna rise and the Eastern Seaboard is gonna disappear? Well, think about this.

Take a glass, fill it half way with ice. Now, add water until it's completely full. Now, when the ice melts, does the glass overflow?

No, it doesn't. The water from the melted ice takes the place the ice was in.
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WOOHOO go go gadget brainiac:D

Not to mention, that the abundance of heat that some areas of the Gulf Stream are encountering, will evaporate a lot of water also. which explains some of why areas not used to getting excessive rains are getting the hammer.

Good point Donn-ay:)
 
TheOriginalJames said:
Britain has never had bitter winters and hot summer and droughts before? I seem to remember WWII footage of soldiers laying in mounds of snow... but hey I guess that 1-2 degree difference they say we now have is really the cause of the same weather patterns.
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we haven't had decent snowfall for about 15 years.....i cant remember the last snow on christmas day.......our summers are getting warmer but wetter,higher average temperature the more evaporation = more rain
 
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