Winter sea ice loss may be underestimated, ancient clues from a warmer Arctic suggest
Researchers have used ancient climate data from the mid-Holocene period to refine models predicting Arctic winter sea ice loss. The study suggests that winter ice may shrink by an additional 1 million square kilometers more than previously estimated.
Why it matters
Improved accuracy in climate modeling is essential for understanding future weather patterns and potential impacts on infrastructure in the U.K., Europe, and North America.
edited by Sadie Harley , reviewed by Robert Egan
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Add to Preferred Sources Arctic sea ice from the air. Credit: Sarah Das Future Arctic winter sea ice is likely to shrink by around 1 million square kilometers (386,000 square miles) more than previously thought, after researchers used clues from a warm period 6,000 years ago to improve the reliability of climate models.
The results, reported in the journal Nature Geoscience , could have implications for future winter conditions in the U.K. and across Europe.
The retreat of Arctic sea ice in the summer months has been widely reported. However, the loss of winter sea ice has received far less attention, despite the fact that climate models disagree with each other most during the winter months.
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