The Arctic Melt May Be Passed the Point of No Return

Scientists have found the first "unequivocal evidence that the Arctic region is warming at a faster rate than the rest of the world." It is also 10 to 15 years before it was predicted to happen.

Climate-change researchers have found that air temperatures in the region are higher than would be normally expected during the autumn because the increased melting of the summer Arctic sea ice is accumulating heat in the ocean. The phenomenon, known as Arctic amplification, was not expected to be seen for at least another 10 or 15 years and the findings will further raise concerns that the Arctic has already passed the climatic tipping-point towards ice-free summers, beyond which it may not recover. Scientists believe Arctic Amplification has been occurring for five years now.

Scientists believe the Arctic is considered one of the most sensitive regions in terms of climate change and little is known what will happen in its transition to a new climactic state, only that it will have a direct impact on the northern hemisphere and the rest of the world. It is disturbing to think that the Arctic, the North pole will no longer be considered such. What shall we call it? The North Ocean? The Great North Sea?

Should we not do something fast the world as we know it will change, if not in our lifetimes, then certainly in our children's lifetimes. Read the rest of the article.

The North Pole is Now an Island

The North Pole has become an island for the first time in human history. Startling satellite pictures taken three days ago show that melting ice has opened up the fabled North-West and North-East Passages - making it possible to sail around the Arctic ice cap. This has been eagerly awaited by shipping companies (read: profits) that will cut thousands of miles off their routes. It sounds to me these folks are not concerned about their children's future, but hey, everyone has to make a buck, right?

Mark Serreze, a sea ice specialist, described the images as an 'historic event' - but warned they added to fears that the Arctic icecap has entered a 'death spiral'.

The pictures, produced by Nasa, mark the first time in at least 125,000 years that the two shortcuts linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans have been ice-free at the same time.

In 2005, the North-East Passage around Russia opened, while the western one, across the top of Canada, remained closed, and last year the position was reversed.

But the satellite data shows that the North-West passage opened last weekend and the remaining tongue of ice blocking the North-Eastern one dissolved a few days later.

Professor Serreze, of the U.S. government-funded National Snow and Ice Data Center, told a Sunday newspaper: 'The passages are open. It is an historic event. 'We are going to see this more and more as the years go by.' Read the rest of the cataclysmic story here.