Arctic Sea Ice Diminished Rapidly in 2004 and 2005
The Arctic Ocean's perennial sea ice, which survives the summer melt season and remains year-round, shrank abruptly by 14 percent between 2004 and 2005, according to a newly published study. Researchers found that the loss of perennial ice in the East Arctic Ocean, above Europe and Asia, neared 50 percent during that time as some of the ice moved to the West Arctic Ocean, above North America.
The overall decrease in winter Arctic perennial sea ice totaled 280,000 square miles - an area the size of Texas. Perennial ice can be 10 feet thick, or more. It was replaced in the winter by new, seasonal ice, which was only about 1 foot to 7 feet thick and more vulnerable to summer melt. The research was published in early September in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.