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Arctic Sea Ice Reaches Record Low

Arctic sea ice extent in March was the lowest ever

Arctic sea ice levels reached a record low for the second consecutive year, the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) said in a recent report.

According to the NSIDC, recorded sea ice extent over the Arctic Ocean on March 24, 2016 barely edged out the previous year for the lowest of all time. The observed mark of 5.607 million square miles came out just 5,000 square miles than the previous low of 5.612 million square miles observed in February 2015.

https://twitter.com/NSIDC/status/714532382850744320

Record heat

NSIDC director Mark Serreze said “the heat was relentless” in in the Arctic this winter, and remarked that he had never seen such high temperatures.

Air temperatures over the Arctic Ocean in December 2015, and January and February 2016 ranged between 4 to 11 degrees Fahrenheit higher than average temperatures in almost every region, the NSIDC report noted.

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Seven percent decrease

The recorded sea ice extent of 5.607 million square miles is more than seven percent (431,000 square miles) less than the average extent of 6.04 million square miles from 1981 to 2010.

Ice extent growth was sluggish at the end of this winter, researchers said, and NSIDC lead scientist Ted Scambos summed it up this way: “The Arctic is in crisis.”

[relink url=”https://amuedge.com/education/sunday-book-ted-talk-reviews-sea-level-rise/”]

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