Melting Arctic Sea Ice (from NASA)

[FourScore]

Run time: 00:28 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbWi8AGMWxk   Posted on YouTube: October 15, 2007 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: October 22, 2007 By DU Member: FourScore Views on DU: 684

 
"Sea ice is frozen seawater floating on the surface of the ocean. Some sea ice is semi-permanent, persisting from year to year, and some is seasonal, melting and refreezing from season to season. The sea ice cover reaches its minimum extent at the end of each summer and the remaining ice is called the perennial ice cover. The 2007 Arctic summer sea ice has reached the lowest extent of perennial ice cover on record - nearly 25% less than the previous low set in 2005. The area of the perennial ice has been steadily decreasing since the satellite record began in 1979, at a rate of about 10% per decade. But the 2007 minimum, reached on September 14, is far below the previous record made in 2005 and is about 38% lower than the climatological average. Such a dramatic loss has implications for ecology, climate and industry."

http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a003400/a003456/index.html

[lapfog_1]

1. This is an animation of the changes to semi-permanent Arctic sea ice?

From 1979 to present?

Holy crap! We are waaaay too late to stop climate change. Even if we quit using fossil fuels tomorrow, the positive feedback systems already in place will cause the rest of the polar ice caps to melt.

Of course, my right wing idiot niece expressed to me yesterday (while eating a dinner of snow crab legs - how ironic!) that Global Warming is a good thing because the winters will be so much better without all the snow and cold weather.

[Delphinus]

2. Don't you just want to reach over and slap

the shit out of someone like that?! It's unbelievable how insane some folks are.

[greenman3610]

3. this is just from jan 2007 to 9/14/2007

major collapse in ice, but do not confuse summer ice
extent with winter ice extent.
the relevant fact is how much summer ice extent
dropped from previous years.
comparison to previous record year 2005 is at
http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a003400/a003470/index.html


my thanks to OP, I have pulled this into my
climate keynote.

[FourScore]

4. I am so glad you can use it.

I think this is THE most important issue we are facing. I worry so much about this.