Alaska’s Sea Ice Is Melting Unusually Early, ‘Another Sign Arctic Is Unraveling’ – Inside Climate News
Article Synopsis – The Arctic’s record-warm winter has allowed thousands of square miles of sea ice off Alaska to melt more than a month early, leaving the shoreline vulnerable to waves and exposing dark ocean water to absorb more heat from the sun. Scientists suspect the sea ice meltdown was caused by a combination of factors, including an inflow of relatively warm Pacific Ocean water through the Bering Strait and record warmth across the entire Arctic region that persisted most of 2016 and early 2017. The rapid recent decline in ice coverage and thickness has led researchers to believe that most of the Arctic Ocean will be free of ice in the summers as soon as the mid-2020s. To read the actual article click here.