Arctic melting could leave ocean ice-free in summer

THE rate of ice melting in the Arctic is leading to an ocean ice-free in summer and researchers see no natural process likely to change that trend.

These conditions haven’t been seen in a million years, but could happen within a century. Melting of glaciers could take much longer, but could raise the sea levels, potentially affecting coastal regions worldwide.

Changes to permafrost could undermine buildings, drain water into bogs and release additional carbon into the atmosphere.

The report was issued by the Arctic System Science Committee of the US National Science Foundation. Chairman Jonathan Overpech said: “What really makes the Arctic different from the rest of the non-polar world is the permanent ice in the ground, in the ocean, and on land.

“We see all of that ice melting already, and we envision that it will melt back much more dramatically in the future, as we move towards this more permanent ice-free state.”

The panel’s findings were published in Eos, the weekly newspaper of the American Geophysical Union.

The report comes days after environmental ministers and officials from 23 countries met in Greenland to call on governments to stop arguing over global warming and start acting. They met near the edge of the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier, which has retreated seven miles since 1960 and become a symbol of fears the planet is approaching a dangerous warming.

The report was issued following a meeting of scientists to examine how the Arctic environment and climate interact and how it would respond as global temperatures rise.

In the past, Arctic climate has included glacial periods with ice sheets extending into North America and Europe, and other times of relative warming.

There are two major feedback systems influencing the region - ocean circulation in the North Atlantic and the amount of precipitation and evaporation that takes place.

Feedback can accelerate changes in the system. For example, white sea ice reflects solar radiation back into space, but as it melts the dark water will absorb some of the light, warming and melting more ice.

The scientists said they did not see any natural mechanism that could stop the loss of ice.