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Delayed freeze in Laptev Sea could have knock-on effects across polar region, scientists say
For the first time since records began, the main nursery of Arctic sea ice in Siberia has yet to start freezing in late October.
The delayed annual freeze in the Laptev Sea has been caused by freakishly protracted warmth in northern Russia and the intrusion of Atlantic waters, say climate scientists who warn of possible knock-on effects across the polar region.
Ocean temperatures in the area recently climbed to more than 5C above average, following a record breaking heatwave and the unusually early decline of last winter’s sea ice.
The trapped heat takes a long time to dissipate into the atmosphere, even at this time of the year when the sun creeps above the horizon for little more than an hour or two each day.
Graphs of sea-ice extent in the Laptev Sea, which usually show a healthy seasonal pulse, appear to have flat-lined. As a result, there is a record amount of open sea in the Arctic.
Click here to access the entire article as originally published on The Guardian website.
Alarm as Arctic sea ice not yet freezing at latest date on record by Jonathan Watts, Environment, The Guardian, Oct 22, 2020
Hat tip to the Stop Climate Science Denial Facebook page.
“Today, climate disasters are up close and personal for Americans,” said Jeremy Symons, a consultant to environmental nonprofit groups and former vice president for political affairs at the Environmental Defense Fund, who has closely followed U.S. climate policy for decades. “It’s leaped out of the science books and into the communities where people have to deal with the deadly consequences of pretending it doesn’t exist.”
It’s a sea change’: How climate went from the back burner to a central issue in this year’s debates by Bray Dennis, Politics, Washington Post, Oct 22, 2020
Posted by John Hartz on Sunday, 25 October, 2020
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