Arctic ice melting

Monomethyl cadmium complexes were found in seawater and in arctic ice melts, where they reach levels of 1.2 ng/L (48% of total cadmium) [34]. Polar bacteria generate monoethyl cadmium species along with trimethyl lead compounds [30 b]. It seems that cadmium undergoes biomethylation under conditions similar... 

In the Arctic, ice-melt occurs at the ice/atmosphere interface, resulting in melt ponds on the upper ice sxuface. These ponds may occupy more than 60% of the ice surface and range in salinity from fresh to fully saline seawater (Maykut 1985). They are inhabited by a variety of organisms e.g., bacteria, diatoms, flagellates and ciliates (Spindler 1994). 

In addition to these direct effects, there are also indirect consequences. One consequence is that, as the oceans warm, they absorb less C02 the other is that, as the Canadian, Siberian, and Alaskan permafrost melts, the rotting organic matter will release vast amounts of C02 and methane. The rising C02 concentration of the atmosphere also reduces the pH of the oceans. In addition, about 10 teratons of carbon (tera = 1012) are stored in the frozen methane hydrates of the Arctic regions, which will also be released if the ice melts. 

Measurements in Bermuda and the Bahamas indicate that before the last ice age (130,000 years ago), corals flourished 20 feet above today s sea level. Such high sea levels could have been caused by the melting of the West Arctic Ice Sheet and the ice on Greenland. 

Siegel formally petitioned to put the polar bear on the endangered list in February 2005. Her filing included extensive scientific documentation of the rapid melting of the arctic ice pack, without which the polar bear cannot survive, and evidence of bears starving and... 

The iodine status in a population depends on two sources, namely the iodine provided by the food, in particular the use of iodized salt and dairy products, and the amount of iodine in the local water supply, which depends upon the age of the soil. As the arctic ice that covered Scandinavia melted and retracted, the surface was removed and replaced by new material, low in iodine. In regions in rain- and windshadow behind the south-Swedish highland and the Norwegian highlands the soil has not been equilibrated with respect to iodine content when compared to older geological matter . The amount of iodine in local water has been found to vary considerably. For instance, iodine in water from 18 local water towers differed from <0.5 ig per 100 ml water (n=10), 0.5-0.9 Lig per 100 ml (n=6), to >1.0 pg per 100 ml (n=2)8. The local variations in iodine... 

The minimalist sees only one property of the arctic ice pack its albedo. To first order, the climate is not interested in growing or melting ice or moving it around. 

Winter temperatures in the arctic range between -50°C and -4°C. Expressed as a fraction of the melting point of sea ice, these correspond to the range 0.82 to 0.99 T. ... 

Raisbeck et al. have reported on the application of the Grenoble cyclotron for the measurement of 10Be in artifically enriched samples [9]. Later experiments have measured 10Be in melted arctic glacier ice cores [10], marine sediments [32] and ocean surface layers [33]. The Yale group, Turekian et al., [11] have measured the 10Be content in magnesium nodules and demonstrated that these nodules accrete at the rate of approximately 4.5 mm/106 years. 

Surface salinity decreasing at high latitudes and increasing at low latitudes caused by melting of Arctic sea ice and Greenland Ice Sheet. 

World Ocean ice cover is expected to decrease. According to some scenarios, by the end of the 21st century, the ice in the Arctic Ocean may well completely melt in late summer. 

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