It’s no surprise that Arctic sea ice is thinning. What is new is just how long, how steadily, and how much it has declined. University of Washington researchers compiled modern and historic measurements to get a full picture of how Arctic sea ice thickness has changed. The results, published in The Cryosphere, show a thinning in the central Arctic Ocean of 65 percent between … [Read more...]
Getting to grips with climate feedbacks
From catastrophic chain-reactions which could push us into dangerous climate change, to cooling effects which balance out global warming, climate feedbacks are an important area of research for scientists. This happens when a change in our climate causes an impact which changes our climate further - a knock-on effect which feeds back into our climate. There are two kinds … [Read more...]
24 Months to save the world
Scientist Julienne Stroeve has studied Arctic ice for decades. Every summer she travels north to measure how much ice has melted. She knows that climate change is melting the ice fast, but a recent trip surprised even her. Vast areas of Arctic ice have disappeared, beyond our worst expectations. This is what the experts warned us about. As the earth warms, it creates many … [Read more...]
Shell says oil spillage will not be recovered
While Shell previously asserted that it would be able to recover 90% of any oil spilled as a result of its planned Arctic oil drilling, they are now claiming that it is impossible to make such claims. According to Shell spokesperson Curtis Smith: "We say in our plan we expect to 'encounter' 90 percent of any discharge on site, very close to the drilling rig. We expect to … [Read more...]
