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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Arctic ice makes alarming retreat in May

By: Randy Boswell

Posted: 06/14/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

ED STRUZIK / CANWEST NEWS SERVICE ARCHIVES Enlarge Image

Ocean ice in the Arctic may be headed for a record decline this year.

Arctic Ocean ice cover retreated faster last month than in any previous May since satellite monitoring began more than 30 years ago, the latest sign the polar region could be headed for another record-setting meltdown by summer's end.

The U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center had already warned earlier this spring that low ice volume -- the result of repeated losses of thick, multi-year ice over the past decade -- meant this past winter's ice-extent recovery was superficial, due mainly to a fragile fringe of new ice that would be vulnerable to rapid deterioration once warmer temperatures set in.

And, driven by unusually hot weather in recent weeks above the Arctic Circle, the polar ice is disappearing at an unprecedented rate, reducing overall ice extent to less than that recorded in May 2007 -- the year when a record-setting retreat by mid-September alarmed climatologists and northern governments.

The centre reported that across much of the Arctic, temperatures were two to five degrees Celsius above average last month.

The centre pegged the retreat at an average of 68,000 square kilometres a day, noting that "this rate of loss is the highest for the month of May during the satellite record."

The report also highlighted recent research indicating that, along with reduced ice extent -- now reliably measured by the U.S. centre through satellite tracking -- harder-to-measure ice volume also appears to be on a steady decline as mature ice that had previously survived many summers is now disappearing.

In November, University of Manitoba polar scientist David Barber also raised concerns about the increasingly "rotten" state of the Arctic's oldest ice and predicted ice-free summers could become the norm far sooner than 2030, as some experts have forecast.

-- Canwest News Service

Leaders pressure Harper on climate

OTTAWA -- It was described by Prime Minister Stephen Harper as a "sideshow," but international leaders are mounting pressure on the Canadian government to include climate change as a major issue on the agenda at upcoming G8 and G20 economic summits in Huntsville, Ont., and Toronto.

"We are actively consulting our guests to prepare the agenda," Harper said last week in the House of Commons.

"Obviously, a lot of subjects will be discussed, including some issues surrounding climate change. At the same time, the G20 isn't expected to replace the United Nations (global-warming) negotiating process."

In recent weeks, international leaders from the European Union, Mexico, the United Nations, along with Nobel Peace Prize laureates have all come forward, urging Harper to allow the summits to consider the climate-change issues as part of their discussions on achieving a sustainable economy.

-- Canwest News Service

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 14, 2010 A11

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