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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: ice melt

ice melt stories: 15 news summaries

 US Glaciers Shrinking Fast  


Aug 7, 09 7:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - Three major glaciers in Alaska and Washington state have rapidly shrunk over the last 50 years due to global warming—and the melting is accelerating as the climate changes, notes a government study released yesterday. The glaciers, chosen as "benchmarks" because their conditions closely parallel those of thousands of... More »

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climate change • Alaska • global warming • Washington state • glacier • ice melt • United States Geological Survey

 Glaciers May Vanish 
 in 'Geologic Instant' 

Prehistoric glacier's rapid meltdown could happen again: researchers

Jun 22, 09 5:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - New data about a prehistoric Canadian glacier that rapidly vanished is giving scientists a stronger model to predict the radical effects of climate change. It's very possible that the same conditions could quickly shrink today's larger ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, prompting sea levels to soar in a "... More »

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climate change • global warming • study • Greenland • Antarctica • glacier • ice melt • Jakobshavn Glacier

Warming Is Polar Bears' Top Killer, Host Nations Agree

US, Russia, Norway, Denmark and Canada sign joint statement on bear population

Mar 19, 09 2:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - Five nations whose land is home to polar bears signed a joint statement today declaring global warming to be the biggest threat to the animals, AFP reports. Canada, Denmark/Greenland, Norway, Russia, and the US agree that “long-term conservation of polar bears depends upon successful mitigation of climate change,”... More »

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climate change • Russia • global warming • Canada • Kyoto Protocol • Norway • Denmark • polar bear • ice melt

 Fishing Banned 
 in Melting Arctic 

Federal panel moves to block trawlers from newly accessible waters

Feb 6, 09 5:07 AM CST
(Newser) - A federal panel has voted to block fishing trawlers from moving into a vast area of the Arctic Sea made newly accessible by melting ice, the New York Times reports. The move will protect 150,000 square nautical miles of US waters north of the Bering Strait while scientists assess... More »

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climate change • global warming • fishing • ice melt • Bering Strait • Arctic Sea • fishing ban • marine biology

 Arctic Ice at 2nd-Smallest Level 

Melting amid cool conditions raises red flags

Sep 17, 08 2:26 PM CDT
(Newser) - Arctic sea ice shrunk to its second-lowest size this summer, up 10% from last year's record, reports Reuters. The melting may not appear as noteworthy as that of 2007, said one research scientist, but the season's conditions prove otherwise. Last year's mix of warm air and favorable winds shifted the... More »

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climate change • Arctic • Northwest Passage • ice melt • Arctic sea ice • Arctic Ocean

 Scientists Spot
 Crack at Top
 of the World

Northern Hemisphere's largest floating glacier breaking up

Aug 22, 08 1:59 AM CDT
(Newser) - A huge crack—seven miles long and a half-mile wide—has opened in a northern Greenland glacier as an 11-square-mile chunk of ice appears to be breaking off. The phenomenon is occurring in the Northern Hemisphere's largest floating glacier, once thought largely immune to the effects of global warming, reports... More »

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Arctic • Greenland • glacier • ice melt • Petermann glacier • Byrd Polar Research Center • Center for the Study of Earth from Space • Jakobshavn glacier

 Greens Blast Arctic 'Carve Up' 

Environmentalists rip pending 'resource grab' after nations meet

May 29, 08 4:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - Environmentalists are slamming an agreement reached at a closed-door meeting among nations with Arctic claims as a resource free-for-all, the Guardian reports. Ministers from the US, Canada, Russia, Denmark, and Norway insist they simply agreed to abide by the law of the sea—but green groups charge that the nations... More »

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oil • Arctic • Arctic race • ice melt • Arctic Sea

 Huge New
 Cracks Seen in
 Arctic Ice Shelf

Giant ice shelf is falling apart and could float away

May 24, 08 6:24 AM CDT
(Newser) - A Canadian expedition has found a major new network of cracks, more than 10 miles long, in the Arctic's ice shelves, the BBC reports. Scientists say the huge shelves are disintegrating; pieces become "ice islands" that can float hundreds of miles away as climate changes takes hold. Arctic sea... More »

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climate change • Canada • Arctic • Canadian Arctic • ice melt • ice shelf • Arctic sea ice

 Glacial Melt Hit Record in '06 

Study finds glaciers lost an average of 4.9 feet of ice

Mar 17, 08 8:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - Glaciers shrank an alarming average of 4.9 feet in 2006, the UN Environment Program says—a dramatic difference from ice loss numbers in the ‘80s and ‘90s, when glaciers lost an average 11.8 inches a year. UNEP’s director pointed to "many canaries in the... More »

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climate change • environment • United Nations • Europe • Pyrenees • glacier • ice melt • UN Environment Program • Alps • power generation • World Glacier Monitoring Service

Ice Melt Imperils Baby Seals

Climate change does a number on Baltic population

Mar 11, 08 12:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - They’re cute, they’re endangered, and they’re some of global warming’s first casualties. Baby seals throughout the Baltic Sea are dying, Der Spiegel reports, as rising temperatures melt the protective dens they rely on to survive. “The situation is dramatic,” said one environmental activist.... More »

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climate change • global warming • Finland • ice melt • WWF • seal pups • Baltic Sea

Antarctica Speeds Into Trouble

Disturbing new discovery indicates climate change is accelerating

Jan 14, 08 11:35 AM CST
(Newser) - Parts of Antarctica thought to be unaffected by global warming are in fact melting as the temperature of the oceans rises, and in parts of the continent, annual ice loss has jumped 140% in the past decade, new research shows. Satellite mapping shows change on a previously unimagined scale, reports... More »

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Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change • Greenland • Antarctica • ice melt • western Antarctic ice sheet • Nature Geoscience • Antarctic Circumpolar Current • Jet Propulsion Laboratory • Eric Rignot • Rajendra Pachauri • American Geophysical Union

Arctic Melting Faster Than Worst-Case Predictions

'The Arctic is screaming,' says scientist

Dec 12, 07 4:14 AM CST
(Newser) - Greenland's Arctic ice melted at rates far surpassing any previous year in 2007, according to new data, indicating that the change is happening far faster than predicted. "The Arctic is screaming," said one scientist. If melting continues at this rate, the Arctic Ocean would be "nearly ice-free"... More »

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climate change • global warming • Greenland • ice melt • Arctic 2007

Arctic Melt Nears 'Tipping Point'

Bigger, dark sea will melt what's left faster, scientists fear

Sep 30, 07 2:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Arctic ice has shrunk so significantly this past summer that scientists fear the region is at a dangerous "tipping point" that could trigger accelerated melting and dangerous consequences for weather patterns and environments. Ice shrank 20% below 2005’s record low. Scientists theorize that the darker sea holds more... More »

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climate change • global warming • Arctic • Antarctica • ice melt

Tourism Heats Up as Arctic Does

Travelers flock to see dwindling ice caps, speeding up their destruction

Sep 24, 07 8:22 AM CDT
(Newser) - The effects of global warming are drawing a crowd. About 1.5 million people will visit the arctic this year, as climate tourists swarm to see the world’s ice caps as they are beginning to melt. But it’s an ironic endeavor, the Wall Street Journal notes, because eco-tourists... More »

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global warming • tourism • ecotourism • Arctic • Greenland • ice melt

Sailors Find Iceless NW Passage

As ice thaws, yachts glide through Northwest Passage

Sep 13, 07 8:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - It's smooth sailing in the Arctic nowadays. Even in recent years, the ice was apt to claim adventurers who dared navigate the Northwest Passage. This year the passage has no ice. And with global warming claiming some 38,000 square miles of ice a year, the Journal reports, the Arctic... More »

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climate change • Arctic • boat • Arctic race • polar ice caps • Northwest Passage • ice melt

15 Stories


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