NASA Investigating Record-Low Summer's End Arctic Sea Ice of 2007

On Monday, NASA stated that a new study has discovered a 23 percent loss in the extent of the Arctic's thick, year-round sea ice cover over the course of the past two winters. This drastic reduction of perennial winter sea ice is the primary cause of this summer's unprecedented sea ice retreat, the largest ever scientifically documented, and the subsequent smallest-ever extent of total Arctic coverage.

A team led by Son Nghiem of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, found that between winter 2005 and winter 2007, the perennial ice shrunk by an area the size of Texas and California combined. This severe loss continues a trend of rapid decreases in perennial ice extent in this decade. The study's results will be published October 4th in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

"Unusual atmospheric conditions set up wind patterns that compressed the sea ice, loaded it into the Transpolar Drift Stream, and then sped its flow out of the Arctic. When that sea ice reached lower latitudes, it rapidly melted in the warmer waters. The winds causing this trend in ice reduction were set up by an unusual pattern of atmospheric pressure that began at the beginning of this century," Nghiem reported.

He and his team utilized NASA's new "QuikScat" technology, which can identify and map different classes of sea ice including older, thicker perennial ice and younger, thinner seasonal ice.

"Improving ice forecast models will require new physical insights and understanding of complex Arctic processes and interactions," added Pablo Clemente-Colon of the National Ice Center.

Recently, ice and snow accumulation specialist Dr. Martin Jeffries and half-Inupiat whaleboat co-captain Richard Glenn have said that while the 2007 melting rate of Arctic ice is "shocking" to many people, and while it is indeed unprecedented "since before 1900 at least", there is absolutely nothing to panic about.