And the result is disappointing.
– What we are seeing right now is a result of a self-reinforcing process in operation, says sea expert Rasmus Tonboe, DMI.
Over the last 40 years, there has been less and less sea ice in the Arctic. But October this year, according to DMI, promises to set the previous record low.
The early break-up and the low ice distribution during the summer have given the sun plenty of time to heat the water.
– And now that the air temperature has long since crept below the freezing point, it therefore takes a long time before the water is cooled off again and can freeze, Rasmus Tonboe explains.
The reason for the low ice distribution is that the water is still warmer than normal.
Especially in the eastern part of the Arctic north of Siberia, the water is two to four degrees above normal.
The surface water in Baffin Bay between Greenland and Canada is one to two degrees warmer than normal, and it inhibits ice formation.
According to the sea ice expert, this is an unfortunate development because the later freezing leads to the ice disappearing faster in the spring.
– This means that the freezing happens later than usual. The ice causes a shorter growing season and winter to grow thick and therefore breaks up earlier in the spring, he says.
According to Rasmus Tonboe, this is a self-reinforcing process that amplifies the effect of the global temperature rise by a factor of two or more.
– It’s a vicious circle. Global global warming is intensifying in the Arctic. That is why climate change is hitting the area particularly hard, he says.
Rasmus Tonboe emphasizes that the figures are approximate, as there are still a few days left in October.
Incidentally, the previous record for October was set last year.
The sea expert was recently on an expedition with the German icebreaker “Polarstern” to the North Pole.
Here he could see with his own eyes that the ice had become thinner.
The goal was for the icebreaker to freeze in the ice in the Arctic to drift with the current towards its target.
It was intended to take 13 months.
But the ice in which the ship lay broke up and melted faster than expected. So after ten months, the ship drifted out of the Arctic Ocean.
Source: The Nordic Page