Yes, it is increasing more rapidly in the Arctic than anywhere else in the world. It has increased several degrees celsius in the past century. This has been primary due to enhanced feedbacks that occur in this region.
Arctic Sea ice has been declining since 1979, when satellites began observing it. September (the minimum) ice cover has been decreasing at 11%/decade. While it has risen from its record low in 2007, it is still well below the mean for this time period. Additionally, 2 years does not make a trend, and the minimum in 2007 had to do with the dominant circulation of the atmosphere that summer.
Sea ice extent is only going to get so low, because even in a warming world it will still be very cold through the summer at the highest latitudes, and it will be difficult to melt the thick ice up there that had been freezing throughout the remainder of the season. The concern is that even more than 11%/decade has been lost in ice volume, which cannot be measured easily.A lot of "multiyear ice" has been flushed out through the Fram Strait in the last 15 years where it enters the North Atlantic and melts. This is very difficult to regenerate, especially when the Arctic continues to experience record warmth.
Scientists used to say the Arctic would be ice free by 2050. Now they think certainly by 2030, and perhaps even by about 2016.
The speed of events is why scientists are so worried. The only known way to stop this melt is to cut greenhouse emissions triggering these changes, and there are few signs of that occurring.
''This is absolutely the critical decade for action,'' said Australian climate expert Tim Flannery.
Ice at the South Pole is getting larger. In September 2012, ice at the South Pole expanded to cover a larger area.
No. Over the time scale of years and decades, Arctic sea ice has been consistently decreasing by 11% every ten years.
Due to the gradual warming of the planet, the arctic ice is melting. Although Polar Bears may become extinct, it will open up a northern shipping passage.
False, It is not even a land mass, it is an ocean. The North Pole is a point which happens to fall in the Arctic Ocean. It can be reached by travelling over the pack ice of the Arctic Ice Sheet which covers the Arctic ocean.
No ocean covers the North Pole. The North Pole is an imaginary point on the Arctic Ice cap that covers the Arctic Ocean. SHORT ANSWER- Arctic Ocean
In the Antarctica and Arctic regions, the freshwater is stored as ice.
An ice cap is ice over land. There is no ice cap in the Arctic. Arctic sea ice is melting, however, more and more each year, and this is threatening the existence of the polar bears who rely on the habitat of sea ice to build up their store of body fat to last them through the (lengthening) summers.
Polar pack ice is snow which has been compacted into solid chunks of ice. It is found in the most extreme Northern and Southern regions of the planet.
Ice Pack
A good portion of the arctic ocean is icepack.
Nothing at all.
According to the GISS, the ice caps in the north are close to normal averages. Yes, they are larger then they used to be and no, they are not yet back to normal. The southern hemisphere is different. It is still growing and has for decades.
In the Arctic, on pack ice during the winter and in Northern Canada, Greenland, and other Arctic landmasses and islands during the summer.
Polar Bears are native to the pack/sea Ice of the Arctic. There are therefore to be found in the countries which border this pack Ice, including Greenland, Norway (Svalbard), Canada, Alaska etc.
Polar bears do not live in the ocean but do swim some in the Arctic Ocean. They live in the Arctic where they hunt seals on the ice pack.
False, It is not even a land mass, it is an ocean. The North Pole is a point which happens to fall in the Arctic Ocean. It can be reached by travelling over the pack ice of the Arctic Ice Sheet which covers the Arctic ocean.
Europeans were most likely to explore the Pacific Ocean last due to its vast size and the challenges posed by its multiple island chains, varied climates, and unpredictable weather patterns. Additionally, the lack of established trade routes and the distance from European ports made exploration of the Pacific Ocean more challenging compared to other bodies of water.
It is an ice cap (ice berg) found in the arctic.
The loss of the arctic ice pack is a loss of their hunting 'grounds'. They are starving to death.
There is no land under the north pole it is simply ice pack over the arctic ocean. I'd say that its barren.