Intersing going's on up North - CBC news reports the following:
Mark Serreze, an ice scientist and the senior researcher for the National Snow and Ice Data Center notes that the early signs indicate that a total meltdown of ice this summer at the north pole is more likely than ever.
February and March information from NASA satellites have led NASA ice scientist Jay Zwally to predict slightly less than 50-50 chance that the north pole will go iceless this year.
Cecilia Bitz, ice scientist from the University of Washington puts the probability closer to 25%. Both Bitz and Serreze say it's now a foregone conclusion -- it's going to happen, far sooner than previously predicted.
All three of these estimates place the timing far in advance of present climate models which had predicted about a 1.5% chance of this event occurring between 2011 and 2020.
Satellite images reveal the ice circle surrounding the North pole to be far thinner than at any time in the last five years and last year set a record for ice melt across the entire arctic circle.
Get this: Change is happening now, much sooner than previously predicted. Another impact of global warming.
(update 30 June, 2008) One picture worth 1,000 words.
