Cool summer posts lowest Arctic sea ice melt down on record

Cool summer posts lowest Arctic sea ice melt down on record

Melting icebergs by the coast of Greenland

ARCTIC SEA ice is more extensive than in recent years, reports Anchorage, Alaska’s Arctic Today.

Though higher than the record-low extent of 2012 and the near record-low extent last year, this year’s minimum is low compared to earlier years and part of a declining trend.

At this year’s annual minimum, sea ice was more extensive. After a cool, cloudy summer slowed melting, Arctic sea ice has begun its winter freeze, said the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre.

Though higher than the record-low extent of 2012 and the near-record-low extent last year, this year’s minimum is low compared to earlier years and part of a declining trend.

Sea ice extent minimums have fallen by 13 per cent per decade, relative to the 1981-2010 average, since satellite records began in 1979, the centre said.

The announcement of the annual ice extent is preliminary. Changes in winds or a late-season surge in melting could reverse the freeze and reduce the ice extent further, the centre said.