UK, December 17, 2008: Scientists say they now have unambiguous evidence that the warming in the Arctic is accelerating. Arctic ice cover in summer has seen rapid retreat in recent years. The minimum extents reached in 2007 and 2008 were the smallest recorded in the satellite age.
Theory predicts that as ice is lost in the Arctic, more of the ocean’s surface will be exposed to solar radiation and will warm up. Ultimately, this feedback process should result in Arctic temperatures rising faster than the global mean, a deviation of 3 degrees Celsius.
Dr Stroeve and colleagues have now analyzed Arctic autumn (September, October, November) air temperatures for the period 2004-2008 and compared them to the long term average. “You see this large warming over the Arctic ocean of around 3 degrees Celsius in these last four years,” explained Dr Stroeve. But he said also, “You see some smaller areas where you have temperature warming of maybe 5 Celsius; and this warming is directly located over those areas where we’ve lost all the ice.”