[asa] Arctic sea ice now second-lowest on record

Arctic sea ice now second-lowest on record

http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/

Sea ice extent has fallen below the 2005 minimum, previously the
second-lowest extent recorded since the dawn of the satellite era. Will 2008
also break the standing record low, set in 2007? We will know in the next
several weeks, when the melt season comes to a close. The bottom line,
however, is that the strong negative trend in summertime ice extent
characterizing the past decade continues.

*Overview of conditions*

With several weeks left in the melt season, sea ice extent dipped below the
2005 minimum to stand as the second-lowest in the satellite record. The 2005
minimum, at 5.32 million square kilometers (2.05 million square miles), held
the record-low minimum until last year.

Recent ice retreat primarily reflects melt in the Chukchi Sea off the
Alaskan coast and the East Siberian Seas off the coast of eastern Russia.

*Update 9:15 am MT August 27:*

Arctic sea ice extent on August 26 was 5.26 million square kilometers (2.03
million square miles), a decline of 2.06 million square kilometers (795,000
square miles) since the beginning of the month. Extent is now within 430,000
square kilometers (166,000 square miles) of last year's value on the same
date and is 1.97 million square kilometers (760,000 square miles) below the
1979 to 2000 average.

*Conditions in context*

Through the beginning of the melt season in May until early August, daily
ice extent for 2008 closely tracked the values for 2005.

In early August of 2005, the decline began to slow; in August of 2008, the
decline has remained steadily downward at a brisk pace. The 2005 minimum of
5.32 million square kilometers (2.05 million square miles) occurred on
September 21.

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Received on Wed Aug 27 19:17:22 2008