Arctic ice melts faster during the warm season but also grows faster in the Winter

almost 5 years ago

Artic ice pack
Observed during the Beaufort Gyre Exploration Project, October 2014
Image: NASA/Alek Petty

According to the results of a research study conducted by NASA the ice in the Arctic is melting faster than before during the warm season, yet growing faster than before during the Winter. The December 2018 summary of the NASA research states that the rate of melting exceeds the rate of growth and thus the overall ice extent is going down.

These are very interesting findings. I personally wonder if it is reasonable to expect the processes to even out at one point as more open water during the Summer should translate into more evaporation, higher humidity and higher rate of precipitation all year round, including more snowfall during the cold months. Snow being reflective, we may get lower temperatures and thus more effective ice formation which will eventually catch up to, or even overtake, the ice melting process of the warm season.

Not sure what to make of it all - but I think the above may be a hypothesis worth some consideration.

Sources

Arctic Sea Ice Is Growing Faster Than Before, But There's A Catch
Trevor Nace, Forbes, 10 December 2018

Wintertime Arctic Sea Ice Growth Slows Long-term Decline: NASA
NASA, 6 December 2018

science climate earth arctic

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9 comments

@pixresteemer 71

almost 5 years ago

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@sockpuppet 57

almost 5 years ago

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@mastersa 54

almost 5 years ago

Nice hypothesis. I’d guess that it would only reach a new equilibrium iff the rate of CO2 production (and other ghg’s) atleast stays constant or slows down. It might even have to decrease... there might not be enough ocean to buffer out the current temperatures.

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@borepstein 75

almost 5 years ago

CO2 gets processed by plants.

Also, I tend to think people like Steven Harper who expect CO2 to only have a logarithmic effect on the greenhouse warming more than those who effectively view this effect as linear.

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