ICE IN ARCTIC melting faster
Melting ice in the Arctic over the past 20 years has increased and is now three times faster than in the 1990s.
This conclusion is contained in a report prepared by a group of scientists from 26 research laboratories in different countries, which used data from NASA and the European Space Agency, and the results of the ice reconnaissance aircraft.
The journal Science, published a report on the study, notes that this is the most accurate to date assessment of the state of the ice cover in the Arctic.
As a result of melting ice in the Arctic and on the Danish island of Greenland ocean levels rose in 1992 by 11.1 millimeters. In general, over the past two decades, he rose by about 0.5 cm.
Other reasons for the increase - warming ocean water, melting mountain glaciers, and changes in groundwater levels as a result of mining. The report expressed particular concern about the decline in the Greenland ice sheet, which is now five times faster than it was 20 years ago.
Scientists have long warned that the Arctic ice could someday disappear and the consequences will be very serious. This will accelerate the warming of the planet, including as a result of the enhanced greenhouse effect under the influence of methane emissions in areas where previously was the permafrost.
At the same time, the reduction of the ice cover in the Arctic extends mining, in particular the development of offshore oil and gas fields, as well as the use of the region#39;s maritime routes.
