Climate change: Arctic ice could vanish by 2044 and experts claim humans are to blame

Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean plays a critical role in regulating temperature around the globe. But ice coverage has been steadily declining at a rate of 13 percent per decade since at least 1979. Climate experts at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) predict ice will completely vanish from the Arctic for parts of the year in just 25 years.

The UCLA researchers presented their finding in the journal Nature Climate Change.

The climate change study has narrowed down a timeline for the melting Arctic ice, which has widely varied from 2026 up to 2132.

According to lead author Chad Thackeray, the Arctic is heating up twice as fast as the rest of the globe.

Climate change and greenhouse gas emissions are largely to blame for the melting.

READ MORE: Britain could be hit a by a monster 98FT tsunami

But the researchers believe cold Arctic waters absorbing more sunlight after the ice melts away is another crucial factor.

Dr Thackeray said: “Arctic sea ice is a key component of the Earth system because of its highly reflective nature, which keeps the global climate relatively cool.”

He added: “The changes to come will have broad environmental, ecological and economic implications.

“By reducing the uncertainty in when we’ll see those changes, we can be better prepared.”

Every year, the amount of sea ice in the Arctic shrinks around the time of September.

The Arctic Circle shrinks over the summer and grows again in the winter when waters begin to freeze again.

“Shrinking ice reduces surface albedo, leading to greater surface solar absorption, thus amplifying warming and driving further melt.

“This sea-ice albedo feedback (SIAF) is a key driver of Arctic climate change and an important uncertainty source in climate model projections.”

The sea ice albedo effect triggers a loop of waters warming, followed by further ice melt, followed by more warning of Arctic waters.

The effect starts with ice coverage melting as a result of natural climate patterns and global warming.

The melting ice then exposes darker, cool waters that can absorb more sunlight.

As the Arctic waters absorb more sunlight, the waters and the air just above them grow warmer.

The warming, in turn, leads to more sea ice melting and retreating, further feeding the cycle.

According to US space agency NASA, both the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets have been losing mass since 2002.

At the same time, NASA said the ice loss has accelerated in recent years starting in 2009.

The space agency estimates the ice sheets are losing about 413 gigatons or 413,000,000,000 tons of ice per year.

source: express.co.uk