BBC: Arctic sea ice reaches record low, Nasa says

[pampango]

The Arctic has lost more sea ice this year than at any time since satellite records began in 1979, Nasa says. Scientists involved in the calculations say it is part of a fundamental change.

Joey Comiso, senior research scientist at Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center, said this year's ice retreat was caused by previous warm years reducing the amount of perennial ice - which is more resistant to melting. It's created a self-reinforcing trend. "Unlike 2007, temperatures were not unusually warm in the Arctic this summer. [But] we are losing the thick component of the ice cover," he said. "And if you lose [that], the ice in the summer becomes very vulnerable."

"Measurements from submarines have shown that it has lost at least 40% of its thickness since the 1980s, and if you consider the shrinkage as well it means that the summer ice volume is now only 30% of what it was in the 1980s," he added.

"This means an inevitable death for the ice cover, because the summer retreat is now accelerated by the fact that the huge areas of open water already generated allow storms to generate big waves which break up the remaining ice and accelerate its melt.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19393075

The volume of ice in the Arctic is only 30% of what it was in 1980 and the rate at which it disappears is accelerating. One senses that nothing will change since any action to deal with global warming involves sacrifice and pain. It looks like humans do not want to make the sacrifice that is necessary for the long run health of the planet.

[joeybee12]

1. Conspiracy theory alarmist!

Go to Yahoo and read the comments there...seriously braindead people posting.

[truebrit71]

2. Remember those predictions about the Arctic being ice-free in the summer by 2030 - 2050?

Yeah...that's most likely going to happen THIS decade (I reckon before 2015)...roughly 10 -15 years earlier than the previous 'worst-case' scenario...The tipping point? That's in the rear-view mirror...

[JRLeft]

3. Another sign that human eradication is inevitable.

[JRLeft]

4. Don't expect to hear about this on the mainstream news.