![]() ![]() Ice reflects sunlight you know this if you’ve ever squinted against the blinding glare of sunlight on snow. Source: National Snow and Ice Data Center See an interactive sea ice graph from the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Ice levels grow and shrink in a regular cycle each year, but the current year’s ice curve on this graph is usually well below the gray median, or normal, line for 1981–2010. And some climate models suggest that if CO 2 emissions continue to rise, the Arctic Ocean could be nearly ice-free by 2050. Because of rising temperatures due to climate change, you'll usually see less ice than the normal line.Īrctic sea ice coverage is shrinking by 3% or more per decade. The orange line shows the normal (median) ice coverage for that day, based on measurements from 1981–2010. Source: National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado Boulder The ice naturally grows and shrinks every winter and summer (March has the most ice September the least.)īased on microwave data gathered via satellite, this image shows how much of the Arctic Ocean is currently covered by ice at more than 15% concentration. White areas below show how much of the Arctic is currently covered by sea ice. By drilling into Antarctica’s ice sheets and extracting ancient layers, scientists can measure what the climate was like over the last 800,000 years. Ice also holds secrets about Earth’s climate history. Many animal species rely on icy habitats to survive-polar bears, seals, foxes, wolves, and many others are threatened by global melting. So with less ice, Earth absorbs more energy, and heats up faster. Ice reflects the Sun’s energy better than than land or water. This can lead to flooding, habitat destruction, and other problems. Meltwater from the ice sheets and glaciers flows into the ocean, causing sea levels to rise. Melting ice is bad news for several reasons: Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf at the Bay of Whales. ![]()
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