NASA Images Show Arctic Ice Melting At Fast Rate

NASA Images Show Arctic Ice Melting At Fast Rate
..

Credit: Photograph by Flip Nicklin/NGS A bearded seal drifts on an ice floe in the Arctic Ocean near Norway's Svalbard archipelago. The seals are one of many species that depend on Arctic ice to survive. A new study says that sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is melting three times faster than the most advanced climate models predict, raising concerns for humans and wildlife in the region.

Dec 12, 2007 5:30 pm US/Pacific
NASA Images Show Arctic Ice Melting At Fast Rate
CBS News Interactive: Global Warming
BOSTON (CBS)

New satellite images from NASA reveal that Arctic sea ice is melting faster than originally thought, which is raising new concerns about the impact of global warming.

The Arctic glaciers are melting, and in fact, this year set a record for the amount of summer ice that was lost. Some scientists now believe that the arctic could be nearly free of summer ice by 2012. The previous estimate was 2040.

Although some of the change can be attributed to natural changes in the earth's weather patterns, more and more scientists are linking the rising temperatures to the greenhouse gasses caused by power plants and cars.

"We are standing on a river of ice that's streaming out of the arctic," said oceanographer Eddie Karmack. "When it reaches the North Atlantic it's going to melt. It will make the waters there fresher, lighter, and affect the whole ocean circulation."

The revelations about the glaciers have given a new urgency to a United Nations conference on global warming in Bali, Indonesia. The United States continues to face international pressure to cut green house gas emissions and show a greater willingness to negotiate.

The conference in Bali will continue through Thursday.

When told about the ice loss in the arctic, a scientist at the government's Snow and Ice Data Center said "the artic is screaming."

FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Pegasus Research Consortium distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

~ MENU ~