sassa Posted August 13 Report Share Posted August 13 Home > News > Science > Article Report: Arctic Ice Shrinking Due to Global Warming Wed August 13, 2003 09:03 AM ET OSLO (Reuters) - Global warming will melt most of the Arctic icecap in summertime by the end of the century, a report showed Wednesday.The three-year international study indicated that ice around the North Pole had shrunk by 7.4 percent in the past 25 years with a record small summer coverage in September 2002."The summer ice cover in the Arctic may be reduced by 80 percent at the end of the 21st century," said Norwegian Professor Ola Johannessen, the main author of the report funded by the European Commission.The Arctic Barents Sea north of Russia and Norway could be free of ice even in winter by the end of the century, said Johannesssen, who works at the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center in Norway."This will make it easier to explore for oil, it could open the Northern Sea Route (between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans)," he said of the report, dubbed the Arctic Ice Cover Simulation Experiment.Moscow and Norway reckon the Barents Sea could be a promising new area for oil and gas. The Northern Sea passage could save shippers about 10 days on a trip from Japan to Europe compared to traveling through the Suez Canal.Johannessen said that the report, published on the Internet ahead of peer review, also indicated that a recent thinning of the polar icecap was linked to human emissions of gases like carbon dioxide blamed for blanketing the planet.But the study showed a thinning of the icecap from 1920-1940 was caused by natural climate fluctuations, such as ocean currents and winds, rather than by a build-up of greenhouse gases.Johannessen said the new survey added to evidence of a gradual thinning of the icecap and gave firmer signs that human emissions, such as exhausts from cars and factories, were mainly to blame.Climate experts say that polar areas are heating up more than other regions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicman Posted August 13 Report Share Posted August 13 tuf to agree or disagree on politics when you are underwater. this truly sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wideskies Posted August 13 Report Share Posted August 13 i'm afraid that many politicians care more for the immediate (get me re-elected) than the future (let my great-grandchildren live without fear)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acmatos Posted August 14 Report Share Posted August 14 there's no way they could possibly know. We humans act like we know everything. It's Junk Science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tranzwhore Posted August 15 Report Share Posted August 15 the future is now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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