New study sheds light on Antarctic sea ice mystery

By now, most people have heard about polar ice melting due to  global warming . But the coming and going of the sea ice surrounding Antarctica still leaves scientists puzzled. Recent research has shed light on changes in sea ice. Antarctica is known for its dynamic  sea ice , which contracts and extends seasonally, yet unpredictably. The drop in sea ice from 2015 to 2016 was staggering — 463,322 square miles, about twice the size of France. The following year, a Netherlands-sized hole melted within the sea ice. Geologists call this unfrozen expanse of open water within ice a polynya. Related: New map exposes secrets of Antarctica’s green snow So, what is happening to Antarctica’s sea ice? Recently,  Geophysical Research Letters  published new satellite research paired with data collected from ocean-faring floats. This research suggests that extremely powerful  storms  in the Weddell Sea whipped up warm winds, which lashed the icepack and brought on the 2015-2016 France-size melt. Storms started in September 2015, and the heat continued, causing the region’s hottest November on record. This weather created Antarctica’s first polynya in almost forty years. The polynya’s dark water absorbed more solar heat, leading to more melting. Then, another storm struck in December, further shrinking the ice. On March 24, 2015,  Antarctica  experienced its then-highest ever recorded temperature of 63.5 degrees. This February, the icy continent broke that record when it hit 65 degrees. “Variability in Antarctic sea ice extent is very large, and detecting an anthropogenic signal is going to be difficult,” said John Turner, a climate expert with the British Antarctic Survey, as reported by  Earther . “The increase up to 2014 was a surprise, considering the ice loss in the Arctic, and the rapid drop in 2016 added to the long list of questions about Antarctic sea ice. It’s unclear whether the sea ice extent will recover to 2014 values or if this the start of the long-term decline expected as  greenhouse gas  concentrations increase.” + Earther Images via Pexels and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

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New study sheds light on Antarctic sea ice mystery

5 Things to Finally STOP Doing in 2017

New Year’s resolutions often center around things we’d like to add our lives — we plan to exercise more, cook at home more, make more phone calls to grandparents or out-of-state friends. The only problem is that come February, we…

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5 Things to Finally STOP Doing in 2017

GreenBiz joins Arizona Sustainability Solutions Festival in February

The six-day event in Phoenix brings the GreenBiz Forum together with Arizona State University and the Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiative.

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GreenBiz joins Arizona Sustainability Solutions Festival in February

GreenBiz Forum 2014 joins forces in Phoenix

The sixth Green Business Forum will share events and audiences with the Sustainability Consortium and Arizona State University in February.

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GreenBiz Forum 2014 joins forces in Phoenix

Walmart Publishes Global Responsibility Report

Written by Melissa Hincha-Ownby, Mother Nature Network Last week, Walmart released its 2012 Global Responsibility Report (GRR). The 2012 report covers sustainability issues at the retail giant during fiscal year 2011, which began on February 1,…

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Walmart Publishes Global Responsibility Report

New Zealand Church Made From Cardboard

A church made from cardboard will temporarily replace the Christchurch Cathedral that was heavily damaged when a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck New Zealand’s Canterbury region in February. The new structure, designed by Tokyo-based Shigeru…

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New Zealand Church Made From Cardboard

College Student Launches iPhone Recycling Startup

Like many college students in these tough economic times, Brennan Zelener, a junior at Colorado State University, has to juggle his academic studies with full-time work. But Zelener’s job is unique for a student with a full course load: Last year,…

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College Student Launches iPhone Recycling Startup

Green Transition Scoreboard — August 2011 Update

Private investments in green technologies have topped $2.4 trillion since 2007, with $400B since February 2011.

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Green Transition Scoreboard — August 2011 Update

Obama’s Nuclear Madness and the Future of ‘Clean’ Energy

In early February, President Obama did something that his predecessor George W. Bush was unable to do: He pushed the restart button on the U.S. nuclear power industry

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Obama’s Nuclear Madness and the Future of ‘Clean’ Energy

half-time show.

The New York Times recently spotlighted a greener journey : the company Maersk has been halving its top cruising speed of its container ships over the last two years, cutting fuel consumption on major routes by as much as 30 percent, as well as equally chopping the ships’ emissions of greenhouse gases! Slow and steady wins the race? We think so – and the same thinking can be applied to your own life: in the driver’s seat of your own vehicle.

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half-time show.

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