Ice near the Arctic, according to new data, is melting twice as fast

Sea ice thickness is determined by measuring the height of the ice above the water: the data can be distorted by snow,

weighing down the ice floe. Scientists are correcting the information obtained using a map of snow depths in the Arctic, but it is decades out of date and does not take climate change into account.

In a new study, scientists have replaced this mapa new computer model designed to estimate snow depths that varies from year to year, and concluded that sea ice in key coastal areas is thinning at rates 70 to 100% faster than previously thought.

The thickness of sea ice is sensitivean indicator of the health of the Arctic. This is important because the thicker ice acts as an insulating blanket, keeping the ocean from heating the atmosphere in winter and also shielding it from sunlight in summer. Thinner ice is also less likely to survive during the melting Arctic summer.

Research text

Previous calculations of sea ice thickness wereare based on the snow map: it was last updated 20 years ago. As sea ice began to form later and later in the year, snow accumulated on the peaks for less and less time. The new calculations are the first to account for this decrease in snow depth, and the authors also suggest that sea ice is melting much faster than previously known. 

To calculate the thickness of sea ice, researchersused radar from the European Space Agency's CryoSat-2 satellite. By calculating the time it takes for radar waves to reflect from the ice, you can calculate the height of the ice above the water and find out the total thickness. 

By combining snow model results with satellite dataradar observations, the authors estimated the overall rate of decline in sea ice thickness in the Arctic, as well as changes in sea ice thickness. 

They found that the rate of melting in threecoastal seas - Laptev, Kara and Chukchi - increased by 70, 98 and 110%, respectively, compared with previous calculations. They also found that in all seven coastal seas, the variability in sea ice thickness increased by 58% from year to year.

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