Today’s Sea Ice concentration in the Arctic.<\/p><\/div>\n
Last Sunday July 15th<\/sup> was Arctic Sea Ice Day, which is why we would like to tell you today a little bit about the importance of sea ice.<\/p>\n
Isn\u2019t sea ice just frozen seawater?<\/a> Sure, that\u2019s totally true, but it is frozen water with a global significance. Sea ice is one major component in our climate system. Depending on the season about three to seven percent of the earth’s surface are covered in sea ice<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A lot of us<\/a> are working with sea ice by modelling<\/a> it, observing it from space<\/a> or reconstructing its past development. The reason for that are the two really important roles of sea ice mentioned above and the fact that there has been a visible decline in multiyear sea ice within the last decades. Sea ice is not only diminishing in extent but also in volume. It is well shown in Kevin Pluck’s animation\u00a0<\/a>that sea ice volume is decreasing faster than the sea ice extent, caused by the decline of thicker multiyear ice.<\/p>\n
Sea Ice extent in the Arctic throughout the last 40 years.<\/p><\/div>\n
The Arctic Sea Ice Day has been established to raise awareness to the lately observed sea ice loss. The day July 15th<\/sup> has been chosen by Polar Bears International<\/em><\/a> because it is the historical date of Western Hudson Bay sea ice break up in mid-July. Sadly, the break-up happens now three weeks earlier than in the 1980s.<\/p>\n