The Arctic could see summer days with practically no sea ice as early as the next couple of years, according to a new study out of CU Boulder.
The Arctic could see summer days with practically no sea ice as early as the next couple of years, according to a new study out of CU Boulder.
The findings, published March 5 in the journal Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, suggest that the first ice-free day in the Arctic could occur over 10 years earlier than previous projections, which focused on when the region would be ice-free for a month or more. The trend remains consistent under all future emission scenarios.
By mid-century, the Arctic is likely to see an entire month without floating ice during September, when the region’s sea ice coverage is at its minimum. At the end of the century, the ice-free season could last several months a year, depending on future emissions scenarios. For example, under a high-emissions, or business-as-usual, scenario, the planet’s northernmost region could become consistently ice-free even in some winter months.
Read more at University of Colorado at Boulder
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