August 16, 2011 | 5:45 PM | By

A Close Look at a Melting Arctic

FILED UNDER: The Science, Arctic, NPR, sea ice

Gretchen Weber

Ice melting in the Arctic, summer 2010

This week, NPR launches a six-part series on, “the changing Arctic,” taking a look at, “what may be the world’s next geopolitical battleground.” Part of that look includes considering the impact of rising temperatures and melting ice, such as freshly-opened strategic waterways and the rush to claim newly-accessible natural resources, like oil and gas deposits.

This focus comes just as MIT releases a new study arguing that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) substantially underestimated the rate at which Arctic sea ice is melting.  The IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report, released in 2007, forecasts an ice-free Arctic summer by the year 2100.  NPR has created an animated map, showing the Arctic’s loss of summer sea ice for the last 30 years.

NPR's animated Arctic sea ice map.

  • http://cagreening.blogspot.com/ Wes Rolley

    Along with this, I think people should read The Fate of Greenland. I was able to check it out from the Santa Clara County Public Library. Lots of great photos along with making a very compelling case that climate can change a lot more quickly than most realize, measured in years rather than decades or centuries. Some recent changes went from cold to warm in a matter of 2 or 3 years.

    Is that what is happening now?

  • NAMVET527

    Well, it is going from WARM to COLD NOW. Look outside & see that the weather the past several years has been cooler than normal. But I know you liberals think “global warming has caused global cooling.” LOLOLOLOL