Artic summer ice
Some scientists think we have already passed the tipping point for the Arctic summer ice. When the ice melts dark ocean water is exposed. It absorbs more heat from sunlight than the reflecting ice, thus reinforcing the warming. The transition to an ice-free Arctic summer can occur within decades, and this has geopolitical implications, in addition to a whole ecosystem being disrupted.
Caption: Arctic summer sea-ice
Credit: Minimum Arctic Sea Ice Extent (2007) | Globaïa & NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio, AMSR2 data courtesy of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
Credit: Minimum Arctic Sea Ice Extent (2007) | Globaïa & NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio, AMSR2 data courtesy of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).