First ice-free day in the Arctic could occur decades earlier than previously thought

Arctic could see summer days with practically no sea ice.

By
Pranjal Mehar
6 Mar, 2024



The disappearance of Arctic sea ice that has been observed is a sign of human-caused climate change. With further warming, these declines are expected to continue and eventually result in an Arctic devoid of ice.


In a new study, scientists at CU Boulder have synthesized knowledge regarding the timing and regional variability of an ice-free Arctic. According to the survey, the Arctic might be “ice-free” in ten years.

It is anticipated that by the middle of this century, September—when sea ice coverage in the Arctic is at its lowest—will be utterly free of floating ice in the Arctic. Depending on greenhouse gas emissions, the amount of time without ice could increase to several months annually by the end of the century. In the worst-case scenario, when emissions keep on their current pace, the northernmost part of the earth might not have any ice during some winter months.

However, when scientists refer to the Arctic as “ice-free,” they do not imply that there is no ice in the ocean. As an alternative, they describe it as having ice covering less than one million square kilometers, or 386,000 square miles. To put that in context, the area’s minimal amount of ice cover during the 1980s was less than 20%. In contrast, the Arctic Ocean’s sea ice area has historically decreased to about 3.3 million square kilometers in September.

In this study, scientists aimed to assess the body of literature already available on sea ice projections. Additionally, they examined sea ice coverage data from computerized climate models to speculate on future potential daily changes to the Arctic.

More:
https://www.techexplorist.com/first-ice-free-day-arctic-occur-decades-earlier-previously/81740/