Arctic ice more vulnerable to sunny weather, new study shows

User rating: 3.3 / 5 after 3 vote(s)

This June 7 2007 NASA satellite image taken under mostly cloud-free conditions shows the beginning of last summers Arctic sea ice melt. Credit: Image courtesy NASA
This June 7, 2007 NASA satellite image, taken under mostly cloud-free conditions, shows the beginning of last summer's Arctic sea ice melt. Credit: Image courtesy NASA

The shrinking expanse of Arctic sea ice is increasingly vulnerable to summer sunshine, new research concludes. The study, by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and Colorado State University (CSU), finds that unusually sunny weather contributed to last summer's record loss of Arctic ice, while similar weather conditions in past summers do not appear to have had comparable impacts.


Full story »

All News summaries from Space & Earth science news
All News summaries for April 21, 2008

Japanese sailor first to cross Pacific in wave-powered boat

Jul 05, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
Japanese sailor and environmentalist Kenichi Horie has completed a 110-day solo voyage across the Pacific Ocean in a boat propelled by wave power to claim another world first.

Major quake hits region of Okhotsk Sea

Jul 05, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
A major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 hit the region of the Sea of Okhotsk early Saturday, the US Geological Survey said, but no casualties were reported.

Phoenix scientists soon will analyze Martian ice

Jul 04, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
Scientists with the US Phoenix lander will make their first analysis of Martian ice fragments in coming days but it could be the last done in one of the probe's small ovens, NASA said on its website Friday. ...

Only seven years left for global warming target: UN panel chief

Jul 04, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
The head of the UN's Nobel-winning panel of climate scientists on Friday said only seven years remained for stabilising emissions of global-warming gases at a level widely considered safe.

Australia needs carbon trading to fight climate change: study

Jul 04, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
A major climate change report for Australia's government on Friday recommended the rapid introduction of an emissions trading scheme to curb greenhouse gases and warned that delay could be disastrous.