The sea ice melts: a record low this year
TUESDAY 29 MARCH 2016 THE CANADIAN PRESS
Arctic ice extent has reached record lows for a second year in a row, NASA and an American research center said on Monday.
According to the National Snow and Ice Center, the maximum ice extent in the Arctic prior to the start of snowmelt was 20 000 fewer square kilometers this winter than in the previous record set last year.
The data is compiled by satellite since 37 years.
"I have never seen such a hot and crazy winter in the Arctic," center director Mark Serreze said by email. The heat came back constantly. "
Temperatures recorded over the Arctic Ocean during December, January and February were from 2 to 6 degrees Celsius above seasonal norms.
Temperatures above the freezing point have even been detected at the North Pole.
This record also comes after 10 consecutive months of world temperature records.
The El Nino phenomenon has been particularly strong in recent months in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in milder temperatures in many parts of North America.
Scientists, however, do not believe that El Nino is responsible for melting Arctic ice, but argue that the amount of ice in the northern regions is related to changes in southern climates.
They suggest that a decrease in ice affects the pattern of the jet stream, a high-altitude airflow that blows from west to east between the parallel 30e and 45e. A more hesitant jet stream would be associated with torrential rains and drought in the center and south of the continent.
Since the beginning of satellite monitoring in the 1970 years, Arctic ice has been melting at a rate of 12% per decade. The Arctic is warming at a rate twice as fast as the rest of the globe
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