Sea ice in the Antarctic at record new level

"The sea ice at the Antarctic is at record new level"

"Professor Anna Wåhlin: Seriously that we do not know the cause"

"Antarctic sea ice has shrunk to historic lows. "

"The massive melting in the beginning of the year baffles scientists. "

"– It is serious that we do not know what it depends on, " says professor Anna Wåhlin at the university of Gothenburg. "

"There have previously been reports of havsisarna in the Arctic and the Antarctic is at lower levels than ever before. "

"Recently alerted the researchers to the amount of sea ice around Antarctica has melted to record low levels for december and early January. 1 January, there were 2.1 million square kilometers of sea ice around the continent, the smallest area in January since measurements began in 1978, according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center."

"It was 726 000 square kilometers below average – an area equivalent to the surface of the two Germany. But why it melts is a mystery, according to professor Anna Wåhlin, department of marine sciences at the university of Gothenburg. "

" It was surprising that it is so low and dramatic changes. It is remarkable and serious that we do not know what it depends on, " she says. "

the "”Big gaps”"

"There are two kinds of ice in Antarctica. Ice cap, located on the country and causing the sea-level rise when it melts, and sea ice floating in the sea, and does not affect the water level when it melts. "

"this Year's minimum distribution will usually be at the end of February or beginning of march. But no forecasts had predicted that there would be such a massive melting of the arctic sea ice, " says Anna Wåhlin. "

"– That you don't know what it depends on, shows that there are large knowledge gaps when it comes to icing and it is serious."

"”Not global warming”"

"In the Antarctic is our planet's largest area of ice cap, but since 1992 the ice has decreased by about 3 000 billion tonnes, showing the new calculations. On parts of the continent, the ice loss tripled in the last decade. "

"Rising sea levels and high risk of flooding in all kustbelägna countries is a reality that awaits if nothing is done to stop smältisen in Antarctica, said scientists in a report last year."

"But the professor Anna Wåhlin has a theory behind why the arctic sea ice is now drastically melting earlier than usual. The cause is not global warming, she believes, because the air temperature in the Antarctic is not warming. "

"– A theory is that it formed less sea ice due to it for the moment, there are less melt water from the glaciers into the sea. The sea ice freezes easier if there is a layer of fresh water at the surface. Instead, it can simply be because there has been less melting of the glacier in the past few years. When the melt stops they enter fresh water in havsvattnen and then freezes it easier to ice. Then, if there is less input of meltwater on the glacier, it can do that it decreases, " she says."

"She also believes that it may be due to the vindsystemen has changed so that the ice is hidden away and stowed together. "

"Risk of flooding"

"It had been alarming if it is now historical bottenrekordet acted on the ice cap, says the professor."

"– Then I had said that there had been a danger on the peace and safety of people and the risk of flooding. Now, however, the sea ice which is already in the sea and floats, and thus does not cause any raising of the water level, " says Anna Wåhlin."

"Sources: NE, Science Daily, Nature"