Arctic lakes' ice season shrinking, study finds
Source: CBC News
Arctic lakes' ice season shrinking, study finds
CBC News Posted: Feb 03, 2014 4:21 PM CT Last Updated: Feb 03, 2014 4:21 PM CT
The ice season in Arctic lakes is 24 days shorter than 50 years ago and peak ice thickness has thinned significantly, say scientists at the University of Waterloo.
Researchers used satellite radar imagery from the European Space Agency of more than 400 lakes located in Alaska's North Slope to examine ice thickness.
They determined that lakes that are fully frozen appear different from lakes that have not frozen all the way to the bottom. Water under the ice makes the radar signals bounce back, creating a brighter image.
The research team found that 62 per cent of the lakes in the region froze to the bottom in 1992. Only 26 per cent of lakes froze down to the bottom of the lake in 2011.
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Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/arctic-lakes-ice-season-shrinking-study-finds-1.2521781