Arctic Ocean to be ice-free in summer months
Thursday, 15 October 2009
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A leading polar scientist has predicted that the Arctic Ocean could be free of ice during the summer months within 20 years as a result of global warming.
Prof Peter Wadhams of Cambridge University has revealed new research showing that much of the sea is entirely made up of "first-year ice" formed during the previous winter.
The region usually contains much thicker multi-year build-ups of ice.
First-year ice is most vulnerable to melting and Prof Wadhams is predicting that the Arctic could be ice-free and open to shipping during the summer months within two decades.
The melting of Arctic ice risks changing the patterns of circulation in the oceans and the atmosphere and could also speed up the effects of global warming.
