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The Arctic has experienced a trend of thinning and melting ice for more than a decade , andNASAscientists now say these distressing depleted ice-skating rink level are the " new normal . "
Melt season in the Arctic Ocean hasconsistently experienced record book lowsin late years . This class , a record low for the sea - frosting extent ( the area of ocean covered by the ice ) was set in March , with relativelyrapid frappe losscontinuing through May , according to NASA scientists . Although the melting slowed in June — likely preserve this year ’s summer sea - ice-skating rink minimal extent from go down a new record low — the Arctic ice is not bouncing back , the scientists say .
A new NASA satellite called ICESat-2, launching in 2018, will measure the height of sea ice year-round.
" Even when it ’s likely that we wo n’t have a record low , the sea ice rink is not show any kind of recuperation . It ’s still in a continue declination over the farsighted terminus , " Walt Meier , a ocean chicken feed scientist at NASA ’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt , Maryland , said in a statement . " It ’s just not proceed to be as extreme as other years , because the conditions conditions in the Arctic were not as extreme as in other long time . " [ image of Melt : Earth ’s Vanishing Ice ]
Whereas a decade ago , this year ’s extent would have ready a novel record low , these humbled levels of sea ice are now " the new normal , " Meier said .
Consistentlyhotter temperatureshave conduct a toll on the Arctic . This year , sea - trash covering magnetic north of Russia opened in April , workweek out front of docket , NASA reported , and by the end of May , ocean - ice cover was more comparable to end - of - June levels .
Weather conditions also affect Arctic ice , agree to NASA . As the weather changed in June , sea - ice loss slowed due to depressed atmospheric insistence , cloudiness and flatus . However , as of mid - August a strong cyclone was moving through the Arctic , and NASA tracked the pace of ice departure as it increase again .
" This year is a big suit study in present how important the weather conditions are during the summertime , especially in June and July , when you have 24 hours of sun and the sun is high in the sky in the Arctic , " Meier suppose .
Along with ocean - ice cover , thethickness of the iceis also important in determining the wellness of the Arctic . Thorsten Markus , chief of NASA Goddard ’s cryosphere laboratory , enounce scientist make out very niggling about the ocean ice ’s thickness .
Research vessels and hoagie can measure out chicken feed thickness directly , and someairborne instrumentstake readings , but satellites have n’t been able to provide a complete look at ocean - water ice heaviness .
NASA is design to launch the Ice , Cloud and ground Elevation Satellite-2 , or ICESat-2 — a planet outfit with lasers to measure the elevation of the ice cover compared to the water level — in 2018 . These measure , combined with calculations of the nine - tenths of sea frosting that lies below the piss ’s surface , will help create a more everlasting delineation of sea - chicken feed thickness , the agency enounce .
" If we want to estimate mass changes of sea ice-skating rink , or increased melting , we need the sea - ice thickness , " Markus said . " It ’s critically of import to understanding the changes in the Arctic . "
Original article onLive Science .
