Arctic sea ice is melting, but don't say goodbye just yet. A new study reveals that it may temporarily stop melting--or even expand--during the next several decades.
Scientists with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) found that the melting Arctic sea ice may see periods of stability and growth as it disappears.
According to Jennifer Kay, the study's lead author, atmospheric conditions, like wind patterns, will vary enough in the coming decades to slow the rate of melting for up to 10 year periods. The good news comes in the wake of last month's observation that Arctic sea ice levels were the lowest for any July since 1979.
But Kay told the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) that these trends would not be permanent. “when you start looking at longer-term trends, 50 or 60 years, there’s no escaping the loss of ice in the summer," she said.
Kay's team found that “sea ice loss observed in recent decades cannot be explained by natural causes alone, and that the ice will eventually disappear during summer if climate change continues."
Kay's team found that “sea ice loss observed in recent decades cannot be explained by natural causes alone, and that the ice will eventually disappear during summer if climate change continues."
According to CBS News "summertime ice in the Arctic has shrunk by about a third since 1979."
About half of the sea ice loss in recent years can be blamed on human activity, the study found.
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