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Arctic Sea Ice Reaches Annual Low
from Nature News
This summer's Arctic sea-ice cover has apparently bottomed out at 4.52 million square kilometres, which does not crack 2007's record low. The US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), at the University of Colorado in Boulder, announced the likely 2008 minimum on Tuesday after tracking five consecutive days of rising ice levels, from 10 to 14 September.
At this point, the ice extends over an area 9.4 per cent greater than it did in 2007. That year, unusually warm weather melted much of the ice, and persistent winds drove what was left together into a 4.13-million-square-kilometre area, well below the 1979–2000 average of nearly 7 million square kilometres. It was the least icy year seen in the Arctic during the satellite era.
This year, however, there were fewer warm days, and the winds came from various directions rather than pushing the ice in one direction. "In some ways, this year is more remarkable than last year," says Walt Meier, a research scientist at NSIDC.
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