: Winter Arctic sea ice declining drastically

The amount of Arctic sea ice is shrinking not only in the summer but in the winter, as well, a NASA scientist reported on Wednesday. Researchers are linking the change directly to global warming.
In 2005 and 2006, the extent of winter ice was about 6% smaller than the average amount over the past 26 years. The retreat is also significantly larger than the long-term decrease of 1.5 to 2% in winter ice cover observed per decade over the same time period.

Researchers have long known that warmer temperatures have been causing more and more ice to melt during summer in the northern hemisphere, with the last four summers showing record lows in ice cover.
Now, Josefino Comiso of NASA’s Cryospheric Sciences Branch in Greenbelt, Maryland, US, has used satellite data stretching back to 1979 to show that less of the meltwater is refreezing in the wintertime.

“It is the strongest evidence yet in the Arctic of global warming,” Comiso said in a press conference on Wednesday.
more ... via | NewScientist | Comiso Study, 1 mb pdf :: UH

Dem Namen nach sollte ewiges Eis dauerhaft gefroren bleiben. Doch in der Arktis schmilzt es - sogar schneller als befürchtet. In den letzten anderthalb Jahren ist das dauerhafte Packeis um 14 Prozent zurückgegangen.
Nordmeer verliert seinen Eisschild, Andreas Kohler für | spon.wissenschaft |