Permafrost Threatened by Retreat of Arctic Sea Ice

by The Environmentalist Staff

Published on Reuters, Huffington Post, IBS, USAToday

A new study by the National Snow and Ice Data Center and the National Center for Atmospheric Research has warned that the integrity of carbon and methane sequestering permafrost is threatened by the rapid retreat of Arctic Sea Ice. This comes at the same time as warnings that this summer may see the first ice-free North Pole for the first time in recorded history.

The rate of climate warming over northern Alaska, Canada, and Russia could more than triple during extended episodes of rapid sea ice loss, according to a new study from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). The findings raise concerns about the thawing of permafrost, or permanently frozen soil, and the potential consequences for sensitive ecosystems, human infrastructure, and the release of additional greenhouse gases.

“The rapid loss of sea ice can trigger widespread changes that would be felt across the region,” said Andrew Slater, NSIDC research scientist and a co-author on the study, which was led by David Lawrence of NCAR. The findings will be published Friday in Geophysical Research Letters.

Last summer, Arctic sea ice extent shrank to a record low. From August to October last year, air temperatures over land in the western Arctic were also unusually warm, reaching more than 4 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) above the 1978-2006 average. This led the researchers to question whether the unusually low sea ice extent and warm land temperatures were related.

The report's findings show a link between rapid sea ice loss and an increased rate of global warming, potentially moving up to 900 miles inland and in areas where permafrost is already at risk, i.e. central Alaska, where periods of abrupt sea ice loss could lead to uncontrolled soil thaw.

Thawing permafrost may have a range of impacts, including buckled highways and destabilized houses, as well as changes to the delicate balance of life in the Arctic...

Cracks found in Arctic Ice Shelf

by Janet Ritz

with The Environmentalist Staff

A new expedition by the Canadian military has uncovered vast cracks in the Ward Ice Shelf, the Arctic's largest, leading to new concerns that climate change is producing a collapse of ice shelves faster than anticipated [video]:

One of the expedition's scientists, Derek Mueller of Trent University, Ontario, [reported]: "I was astonished to see these new cracks.

"It means the ice shelf is disintegrating, the pieces are pinned together like a jigsaw but could float away," Dr Mueller explained.

This follows the partial (gigantic) collapse of the Antarctic's Wilkins Ice Shelf as reported in this article from February:

The National Ice and Snow Institute (NISDC) has released a report documenting a dramatic and troubling collapse of a large portion (nine times the size of Manhattan) of the Wilkins Ice Shelf in Antarctica.

Scientists now report a 23% loss of sea ice due to climate change in the last year alone, citing the changes in the ice shelves as impacted by the same forcings.

The shifting of the ice has also led to potential disputes over Arctic sovereignty rights, an increasing consideration for countries that hope to tap natural resources that may become exposed by the melting ice. The Canadian expedition was part of an effort to determine territory in a changing terrain, as the different nations who lay claim to the Arctic try to solve the melting jigsaw puzzle the Arctic's ice has become...

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