WORLD NEWS | Antarctic sea ice cover hits record low for second year in a row, earlier than last year: study

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 (PTI) Antarctic sea ice extent has reportedly broken last year’s record low and was recorded earlier than last year, according to a statement from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).

According to the report, on February 13, 2023, the Antarctic sea ice extent fell to 1.91 million square kilometers.

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It said that was a record low, below the previous record of 1.92 million square kilometers set on February 25, 2022.

This year is the second year in which Antarctica’s area has fallen below 2 million square kilometers, the statement said.

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Over the past few years, the annual minimum has occurred between February 18 and March 3, so further declines are expected this year.

With the melt season likely to have several weeks left, the melt is expected to decline further before reaching annual minimums, it said.

Much of the Antarctic coast is ice-free, exposing ice shelves at the edge of the ice sheet to wave action and warming, the statement said.

NSIDC is a US information and referral center that supports polar and cryosphere research.

NSIDC is part of the University of Colorado Boulder’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) and is affiliated, through a cooperative agreement, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Center for Environmental Information.

According to the NSIDC statement, since mid-December, sea ice extent has been well below last year’s melt season levels.

A due south circular pattern results in stronger than average westerly winds. Along with a strong Amundsen Sea low, the weather conditions brought warm air to areas on either side of the Antarctic Peninsula, the statement said.

This has largely cleared ice sheets in the Amundsen Sea and Bellings Plateau Sea, and has reduced sea ice extent in the northwestern Weddell Sea, NSIDC said.

On Antarctica’s Pacific-facing coastline, sea ice is patchy and almost non-existent, the NSIDC said.

Earlier studies had linked low sea ice cover to the stress that waves put on floating ice shelves that circle continents, causing breakups in weaker areas, the statement said.

Antarctic sea ice extent has varied significantly over the past few years. While the minimum ranges for 2022 and 2023 were record lows, four of the five highest minimum ranges since 2008 occurred, the NSIDC said.

Overall, the trend for Antarctic minimum extent from 1979 to 2023 is close to zero, NSIDC said.

The current linear decline in Antarctic minimum extent from 1979 to 2023 is 2,400 square kilometers per year, or 0.9% per decade, which is currently not statistically significant, NSIDC said.

Still, the statement said, the sharp decline in sea ice extent since 2016 has spurred research into the underlying causes and whether a significant downward trend is developing in Southern Hemisphere sea ice loss.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)