The Arctic had the lowest ice extent in 30 years (Video)

February 13, 2013
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An international team of scientists found, using CryoSat satellite measurements of the European Space Agency (ESA), which the ice surface recorded in the Arctic over the past six summers was the lowest in 30 years. In this sense, they indicated that the lowest level was reached last September when there was an area of 3.61 million square kilometers.

The team led by University College London generated estimates of both coverage and the level of sea ice, to over the last few years and said the ice covering the Arctic decreased in all seasons.

Cryosat satllite determined that ice volume fell 36 percent in the fall and 9 percent in winter, between 2003 and 2012. Given these figures, the team of scientists investigated these losses during the winters of 2010-11 and 2011-12. This study confirmed for the first time, that the decline in sea ice cover in the polar region was accompanied by a substantial decrease in the volume of ice .

The author of the study, published in ‘Geophysical Research Letters’, Katherine Giles explained that: “The data show that the thickness of sea ice disappeared from a region north of Greenland, the archipelago of Canada and northeastern Svalbard.”