An Ice-Free Arctic? | Green Energy News

October 19, 2003 – Vol.8 No.30

AN ICE-FREE ARCTIC?.

On the upside, what will the benefits be of an ocean of liquid water, instead of ice, now predicted for later in this century?

The time it takes to ship goods from Asian producers to ports in Europe and the Eastern United States will be significantly reduced as shipping lanes in the Arctic Ocean are opened.

The Arctic meltdown, as indicative of a general world warming trend, will make winters in some parts of world a few degrees more comfortable.

That’s about it.

The downside is greater.

The new ocean with the long jagged coastlines of North America, Europe and Asia will need to be patrolled by the world’s navies.

As is already happening, populations along these coasts will be forced to move to more solid ground as melting tundra no longer supports structures. Their culture and economy will change too.

Farther south, farmers that once relied on snowfall to dampen the soil might be shortchanged with warmer winters. Yearly crop production will be reduced.

The melted Arctic saltwater ice cap won’t raise sea levels, but as the melt extends to the freshwater glaciers of Greenland oceans will rise.

The flow of fresh water into the oceans, too, could change salinity levels to the point where ocean currents may change direction, or cease to flow. Canada and United States, and especially Europe need the Gulf Stream for warmth. Without it economies would be devastated.

With startling satellite photographs as graphic evidence, researcher Josefino Comiso at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center confirms in an article for the Journal of Climate of the American Meteorological Society, that the Arctic Ocean is indeed becoming ice-free, and the melt is accelerating. With Arctic ice retreating in the summer months at 9 percent each decade, in a few decades shipping lanes in parts of the Arctic may be open for traffic. By the end of the century all of the Arctic should be open for commerce.

The scientist also says that the warming trend in the Arctic, more than 4 degrees in the last two decades, is self-sustaining. Whereas ice cover reflects sunlight back into space, water absorbs the sun’s heat. The smaller the ice cap gets, the greater the area of exposed water. The exposed water warms in the sunlight melting still more ice.

And on land, permafrost tundra - no longer permanently frozen in warmer temperatures - releases carbon dioxide and methane as it melts, adding even more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

The scientist’s warning on warming and an ice-free Arctic? It’s well underway and unstoppable. We can’t wait for technological fixes and should begin to prepare for the consequences. Visit NASA News at http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NasaNews/