Thin Ice of Arctic sea by MagikUnicorn
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Description
Terragen front left & right view
and INFORMATION about the Thin Ice !!!
Satellites Show Arctic Literally on Thin Ice
The latest Arctic sea ice data from NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center show that the decade-long trend of shrinking sea ice cover is continuing. New evidence from satellite observations also shows that the ice cap is thinning as well.
Arctic sea ice works like an air conditioner for the global climate system. Ice naturally cools air and water masses, plays a key role in ocean circulation, and reflects solar radiation back into space. In recent years, Arctic sea ice has been declining at a surprising rate.
Scientists who track Arctic sea ice cover from space announced today that this winter had the fifth lowest maximum ice extent on record. The six lowest maximum events since satellite monitoring began in 1979 have all occurred in the past six years (2004-2009).
Until recently, the majority of Arctic sea ice survived at least one summer and often several. But things have changed dramatically, according to a team of University of Colorado, Boulder, scientists led by Charles Fowler. Thin seasonal ice -- ice that melts and re-freezes every year -- makes up about 70 percent of the Arctic sea ice in wintertime, up from 40 to 50 percent in the 1980s and 1990s. Thicker ice, which survives two or more years, now comprises just 10 percent of wintertime ice cover, down from 30 to 40 percent.
According to researchers from the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo., the maximum sea ice extent for 2008-09, reached on Feb. 28, was 15.2 million square kilometers (5.85 million square miles). That is 720,000 square kilometers (278,000 square miles) less than the average extent for 1979 to 2000.
"Ice extent is an important measure of the health of the Arctic, but it only gives us a two-dimensional view of the ice cover," said Walter Meier, research scientist at the center and the University of Colorado, Boulder. "Thickness is important, especially in the winter, because it is the best overall indicator of the health of the ice cover. As the ice cover in the Arctic grows thinner, it grows more vulnerable to melting in the summer."
The Arctic ice cap grows each winter as the sun sets for several months and intense cold sets in. Some of that ice is naturally pushed out of the Arctic by winds, while much of it melts in place during summer. The thicker, older ice that survives one or more summers is more likely to persist through the next summer.
Sea ice thickness has been hard to measure directly, so scientists have typically used estimates of ice age to approximate its thickness. But last year a team of researchers led by Ron Kwok of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., produced the first map of sea ice thickness over the entire Arctic basin.
Using two years of data from NASA's Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat), Kwok's team estimated thickness and volume of the Arctic Ocean ice cover for 2005 and 2006. They found that the average winter volume of Arctic sea ice contained enough water to fill Lake Michigan and Lake Superior combined.
The older, thicker sea ice is declining and is being replaced with newer, thinner ice that is more vulnerable to summer melt, according to Kwok. His team found that seasonal sea ice averages about 1.7 meters (6 feet) in thickness, while ice that had lasted through more than one summer averages about 3 meters (9 feet), though it can grow much thicker in some locations near the coast.
Kwok is currently working to extend the ICESat estimate further, from 2003 to 2008, to see how the recent decline in the area covered by sea ice is mirrored in changes in its volume.
"With these new data on both the area and thickness of Arctic sea ice, we will be able to better understand the sensitivity and vulnerability of the ice cover to changes in climate," Kwok said.
Thanks
Magik
Comments (77)
MagikUnicorn
Arctic Sea Ice Reaches Lowest Coverage
3x3
superb terragen work buddy x f!
brycek
Beautiful..excellent work!!
pops
Oustanding collage and work
MagikUnicorn
A N I M A T I O N
shadownet
Nice work!
bmac62
Colors, clouds and reflections are superb.
flaviok
Magnifica, excelente realização, meu amigo, aplausos (5) Texto e video explicativo excelente, deveras alarmante e respeito do futuro climático de nosso planeta
mel841
Terrific Terragen!!
Faemike55
Great renders and very interesting if not alarming information
Minda
wonderful terragen great reflections and clouds great work magic!!
DennisReed
Cold, but lovely Terrain!
amota99517
These are fantastic and so well done! Yes, the ice on the arctic is something scientists have been working on. It will be interesting to see what happens.
schonee
Excellent info Mu and Super images Well done. I hope you had a great day!
eekdog
this is a thing of beauty magik, very well created my friend. steve
RodolfoCiminelli
Mervilleux mon ami.....!!!!
Pewter7
Nice work, and lots of good info, my friend. Thank you :)
mikeerson
I like the top picture best.... story has been being told... unfortunately, the people that can do something aren't... At least in my opinion... I would love to see cars dismantled and non polution vehicles put on the road - but damn that sounds like a lot of work - WORK? I'll be damn, that's what the world needs... ever here of any plans for this? NO.
bpclarke
Pristine, crisp and beautiful! Excellent work.
ToniDunlap
You and Terragen are great partners MU! Wonderful Work!! Happy Easter.
magnus073
Magik, c'est une grande peinture vous avez créé mon ami. Votre peinture fait un bon travail de montrer la glace fine dans la Mer Artic. Merci pour l'inclusion des informations de la NASA
jocko500
cool images. it just a season here on earth. all the planets is warming up in the same time period
Darkwish
You did very nice pic!
myquad
Amazing images and scary information.
shotgung0d
Superb yet troubling post.
claude19
C'est décidément le jour ! Le titre de tes magnifiques images, le texte de mon chargement de ce matin, la splendide composition d'Adrie aujourd'hui...ce sont les artistes, qui crient alertes, et non des politiciens avides d'intérêts privés ! BRAVO belle réussite que ce travail ci !!!
lyron
Great work!!!
stevey3d
Wonderful image Magik! The state of the arctic is a concern!
delbeke
Excellent images of the artic and yes, it is very troubling what is happening to it. It is frightening. Humans refuse to learn from past mistakes. Thank Majik for the info.
netlauv
Splendid colors and great landscape. 5+++++ Bravo, Magik, c'est magnifique.