SEals crowd together on a bit of ice in an otherwise open water area. The rapidly warming Arctic is creating changes that will have major negative effects on land and marine life, and on indigenous people.

SEals crowd together on a bit of ice in an otherwise open water area. The rapidly warming Arctic is creating changes that will have major negative effects on land and marine life, and on indigenous people.
Photo Credit: CBC

2015 Arctic report card-dramatic warming, dramatic impact

The latest assessment of Arctic climate shows yet again more clear indications the Arctic is warming faster than other places on Earth.

The annual Arctic report card has been produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration since 2006.

The 12 sections in this 2015 edition  is the result of research studies by 72 scientists from 11 countries.

It covers issues like air temperature, the Greenland Ice sheet, sea surface temperature, snow cover and so on.

With less reflective snow cover, and snow melting faster, the land is heating up, which also heats the air. While more southerly Arctic regions are becoming *greener* the most northerly regions are *browning*
With less reflective snow cover, and snow melting faster, the land is heating up, which also heats the air. While more southerly Arctic regions are becoming *greener* the most northerly regions are *browning* © NOAA

It shows an ongoing and rapid warming. Air temperature on average during the 2014-15 winter months was 1.3 degrees Celsius above average, the highest sind 1900 and represents an almost 3-degrees Celsius increase since then.

It also notes several regions where temperatures were even higher.

Another study showed greater flow from Arctic rivers, and that the flow peaked earlier in the season than before, indicated faster and greater melting of snow, and of glaciers in mountain regions.

GRACE satellite data-Between mid-April 2014 and mid-April 2015, roughly corresponding to the period between the beginning of the two consecutive melt seasons, the 186 Gt of ice loss was 22% lower than the average April-to-April mass loss (238 Gt) during 2002-2015. For comparison, since GRACE measurements began in 2002, the smallest April-to-April mass loss was 29 Gt during 2013-2014 and the largest was 562 Gt during 2012-2013. *1-Gt= 1 billion tonnes
GRACE satellite data-Between mid-April 2014 and mid-April 2015, roughly corresponding to the period between the beginning of the two consecutive melt seasons, the 186 Gt of ice loss was 22% lower than the average April-to-April mass loss (238 Gt) during 2002-2015. For comparison, since GRACE measurements began in 2002, the smallest April-to-April mass loss was 29 Gt during 2013-2014 and the largest was 562 Gt during 2012-2013. *1-Gt= 1 billion tonnes © NOAA 2015 Arctic report

In fact it shows that the Greenland ice sheet was melting at an incredible rate in 2015 with over 50 percent of the surface subject to melting.

RCI-warming affect on Arctic wildlife

The warming is also affecting sea-ice cover  which continues its shrinking trend. Not only is the trend diminishing but of the sea-ice is first year ice.  Only three percent of the ice is older than four years.

The Upernavik Glacier in northwest Greenland is melting into a lake. Greenland’s ice sheet has been melting twice as fast during the 21st century as it did during the 20th.
The Upernavik Glacier in northwest Greenland is melting into a lake. Greenland’s ice sheet has been melting twice as fast during the 21st century as it did during the 20th. © Niels Jákup Korsgaard/Natural History Museum of Denmark

The warming is also having a negative effect on indigenous peoples in the Arctic and on marine and animal life.  Warmer water species are moving north displacing native species. There are now algae blooms, and the lack of ice is affecting animals like walrus and seals who need the ice to give birth and raise young.

The recent international climate conference in Paris agreed to try to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius, but the scientists point out that this could mean a dramatic 4 degree increase in the Arctic, with equally dramatic changes to the region.

Additional info and sources

NOAA video

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