Researchers have been extremely concerned about the warmer weather seen in Earth's Arctic region; and a recent cool down hasn't given them much consolation.
The cooler temperatures across the central Arctic Ocean, Greenland and northern Canada helped to "moderate" the data on worrisome melting of sea ice and the Greenland ice sheet, a National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA) news release reported.
"The Arctic caught a bit of a break in 2013 from the recent string of record-breaking warmth and ice melt of the last decade," David M. Kennedy, NOAA's deputy undersecretary for operations, said at a press briefing at the American Geophysical Union annual meeting. "But the relatively cool year in some parts of the Arctic does little to offset the long-term trend of the last 30 years: the Arctic is warming rapidly, becoming greener and experiencing a variety of changes, affecting people, the physical environment, and marine and land ecosystems."
The researchers released the latest "Arctic report card," which looks into the changing Arctic conditions.
The report found Alaska saw its coldest April since 1924. Summer across the majority of the Arctic was cooler than it had been in six years. Despite these factors sea ice continued to retreat and the Greenland ice sheet saw melting across 44 percent of its surface.
The snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere (including the Arctic) was below average; and North America saw the sixth lowest snow coverage rate since 1979.
Sea surface temperatures were found to be about seven degrees Fahrenheit higher than the overall average between 1982 and 2006.
"The Arctic Report Card presents strong evidence of widespread, sustained changes that are driving the Arctic environmental system into a new state and we can expect to see continued widespread and sustained change in the Arctic," Martin Jeffries, principal editor of the 2013 Report Card and science adviser for the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, and research professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said in the news release. "But we risk not seeing those changes if we don't sustain and add to our current long-term observing capabilities. Observations are fundamental to Arctic environmental awareness, government and private sector operations, scientific research, and the science-informed decision-making required by the U.S. National Strategy for the Arctic."
