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Arctic ice meltsIt does so at such a rapid rate that it could disappear completely in just a few more decades. And it is that, as the planet warms, the icy layer that floats on the Arctic Ocean and its surrounding seas cannot continue to exist.
Until now we have known that young ice, that is, ice that is only a few years old, melts easily in a hot summer. But unfortunately, also the »old ice» is disappearing.
Arctic sea ice measurements are not complete, so NASA researchers have used a method developed by the University of Colorado (United States) that allows them to have a more or less clear idea of how the layer has evolved of ice from 1984 until now, since can measure temperature, salinity, texture and snow cover that rests on the ice thanks to passive satellite microwave instruments.
Thus, they created an animation that shows how the ice has been growing and contracting in the last 32 years.
There is never the same amount of ice. Every year, it increases in winter and decreases in summer. This is normal. The ice that survives in winter becomes thicker as time goes by, being able to grow between 1 and 3 meters during the first years, and between 3 and 4 meters when they are "old ice". The latter are, consequently, more resistant to the impact of waves or storms; However, nothing protects them against rising temperatures.
Walt Meier, a researcher at NASA's Goddard Center in Maryland, said that most of the older ice was lost, and added:
In 1980 multi-year layers made up more than 20% of the ice cover. Today they only reach 3%.
If the trend doesn't change, the Arctic is likely to have an ice-free summer soon.