J.D. Harrington
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-5241
j.d.harrington@nasa.gov
Maria-Jose Vinas
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt,
Md.
301-614-5883
mj.vinas@nasa.gov
GREENBELT, Md. -- The extent of the sea
ice covering the Arctic Ocean has shrunk. According to scientists from NASA and
the NASA-supported National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colo.,
the amount is the smallest size ever observed in the three decades since
consistent satellite observations of the polar cap began.
NASA and NSIDC scientists will host a
media teleconference at 3 p.m. EDT, today, to discuss this new record low for
summertime Arctic sea ice cover.
The extent of Arctic sea ice on Aug. 26,
as measured by the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager on the U.S. Defense
Meteorological Satellite Program spacecraft and analyzed by NASA and NSIDC
scientists, was 1.58 million square miles (4.10 million square kilometers), or
27,000 square miles (70,000 square kilometers) below the Sept. 18, 2007, daily
extent of 1.61 million square miles (4.17 million square kilometers).
The sea ice cap naturally grows during
the cold Arctic winters and shrinks when temperatures climb in the spring and
summer. But over the last three decades, satellites have observed a 13 percent
decline per decade in the minimum summertime extent of the sea ice. The
thickness of the sea ice cover also continues to decline.
"The persistent loss of perennial
ice cover -- ice that survives the melt season -- led to this year's record
summertime retreat," said Joey Comiso, senior research scientist at NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "Unlike 2007, temperatures
were not unusually warm in the Arctic this summer."
The new record was reached before the
end of the melt season in the Arctic, which usually takes place in mid- to
late-September. Scientists expect to see an even larger loss of sea ice in the
coming weeks.
"In 2007, it was actually much
warmer," Comiso said. "We are losing the thick component of the ice
cover. And if you lose the thick component of the ice cover, the ice in the
summer becomes very vulnerable."
"By itself it's just a number, and
occasionally records are going to get set," NSIDC research scientist Walt
Meier said about the new record. "But in the context of what's happened in
the last several years and throughout the satellite record, it's an indication
that the Arctic sea ice cover is fundamentally changing."
The panelists for the briefing are:
-- Joey Comiso, senior research
scientist, Goddard
-- Walt Meier, research scientist, NSDIC
To participate in the teleconference and
obtain dial-in information, reporters must contact Maria-Jose Vinas at
mj.vinas@nasa.gov or Natasha Vizcarra at natasha.vizcarra@nsidc.org by 3 p.m.
EDT today.
For more information and supporting
images, go to http://go.nasa.gov/PmOyHo.
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