Arctic Sea Ice

I've posted about the Arctic sea ice numerous times, here, and here, for example.  One important reason I go back to that is because of the Paleocene/Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), at which time the planet, and the Arctic, underwent a similar experience to what we are now experiencing, at a time where greenhouse gases poured into the atmosphere and the oceans acidified producing the largest loss of sea life in our planet's history.  We are pouring greenhouse gases into the atmosphere at a rate that is ten times what happened at the PETM.  An indication of what is going on is the break up of part of the Arctic sea ice that wasn't expected to do so this soon.

The Arctic sea ice now appears to be at a tipping point.

The oldest and thickest sea ice in the Arctic has started to break up, opening waters north of Greenland that are normally frozen, even in summer. 

This phenomenon – which has never been recorded before – has occurred twice this year due to warm winds and a climate-change driven heatwave in the northern hemisphere.

One meteorologist described the loss of ice as “scary”. 

The latest readings by the Norwegian Ice Service show that Arctic ice cover in the Svalbard area this week is 40% below the average for this time of year since 1981. In the past month, at least 14 days in the past month have hit record lows in this region. Although thinner ice elsewhere in the Arctic means this is unlikely to be a record low year overall, they are in line with predictions that there will be no summer ice in the Arctic Ocean at some point between 2030 and 2050.

What is happening in the Arctic is worrying about what may be happening to the entire planet.

As well as reducing ice cover, the ocean intrusion raises concerns of feedbacks, which could tip the Earth towards a hothouse state.

Freakish Arctic temperatures have alarmed climate scientists since the beginning of the year. During the sunless winter, a heatwave raised concerns that the polar vortex may be eroding.

This includes the Gulf Stream, which is at its weakest level in 1,600 years due to melting Greenland ice and ocean warming. With lower circulation of water and air, weather systems tend to linger longer.