Uh oh.


Meltdown: Ice Cracks at North Pole

By Sara Goudarzi
LiveScience Staff Writer
posted: 20 September 2006
02:22 pm ET

Satellite images of the Arctic show large openings in the perennial ice cover, yet another consequence of greenhouse warming, scientists announced this week.


The Arctic's thick perennial sea ice typically survives the warmth of the summer and lasts through the year. But satellite images taken in late August show that up to 10 percent of the perennial sea ice has been fractured by summer storms. The surprising change involves an area larger than the size of the British Isles.

The striking openings in the pack ice were found north of Svalbard, Norway and extend to the Russian Arctic all the way to the North Pole. This condition is likely due to the thinning and extra mobility in the European section of the central Arctic ice pack seen in recent years.


"This situation is unlike anything observed in previous record low ice seasons," said Mark Drinkwater of the European Space Agency's Oceans/Ice Unit. "It is highly imaginable that a ship could have passed from Spitzbergen or Northern Siberia through what is normally pack ice to reach the North Pole without difficulty."


The minimum ice extent—the lowest amount of ice recorded in the area annually—has shrunk from 3 million square miles in the early 1980's to less than 2 million square miles in 2005. A recent study showed that between 2004 and 2005, the ice shrunk by 14 percent, a decrease in area the size of Texas.


"If this anomaly trend continues, the North-East Passage or 'Northern Sea Route'between Europe and Asia will be open over longer intervals of time, and it is conceivable we might see attempts at sailing around the world directly across the summer Arctic Ocean within the next 10-20 years," Drinkwater said.

Snow cone sales need to be limited, they are devastating.

*throws snowball at Dip*

Snow melts all the time over there, nothing new.

Santa is screwed

I think we need to have a "Save the Ice" day, where everyone leaves their freezers open to help out.

DANG IT, I thought I gave the memo to Santa that he should have the elves pee in the same spot that it was going to cause something major!!!!

All joking aside though, honestly there aren't enough people that care to do anything to fix the problem and for the most part it's no point in even trying. Cause we may fix one thing but we'll cause another the human race isn't very caring as a whole when it comes to our enviroment :/ sad but true.

Santa needs to use ecological fuels on his reindeer ride

I am only one person, me loving the enviroment will not help the world if not everyone will pitch in... un-caring people will be the death of us all. But until then.. UO! Woo! =D

Nothing more one can do, Unless your house is a big floating Oceanliner or something... but even eventally something Horrible can happen, like Adam ramming into it... =P

-RMS Carpathia-

*wonders if the Blackrock had anythign to do with this*

Right thats it NO one os allowed to play any snowball games from now on on the Arcade [ runs off to take the leader on all snowy games]

Serious note tho thats pretty devastating 14 % the size of Texas

Maybe. I am one of the ones who at least try. At least we will know we are doing what we can..... then when the ice caps melt and we are all flooded, you and I can say "I TOLD YOU SO!"
lol