The Superhot Arctic Refuses To Melt!

By Paul Homewood

http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/

We know that Arctic sea ice extent has been at relatively low levels this past winter. However, most of the deficit has been on the periphery, mainly in the Barents Sea, or way outside the Arctic anyway, areas which would soon melt away anyway.

The natural consequence of this reduced ice coverage is that enormous amounts of heat have been escaping from the oceans during the Arctic winter, a phenomenon that is part of the Earth’s thermostat.

However, largely as a consequence of this low ice extent, the spring melt has been slow to arrive.

Normally, the Arctic reaches maximum extent on Feb 28th, yet this year extent was till above that day’s level on 13th March, and in the last week has actually been growing again. Currently it is only slightly below the level of a month ago.

http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/

Meanwhile, according to DMI, ice extent is now above that of both 2015 and 2016.

http://ocean.dmi.dk/arctic/icecover.uk.php

Most of the thin ice is, again, centred around the Barents Sea, due to the influx of warmer water from the Atlantic. As already stated, this would normally melt away quickly anyway.

But across most of the Arctic basin, the ice is much thicker.

http://ocean.dmi.dk/arctic/icethickness/thk.uk.php

In the meantime, Greenland continues to blow away all records with the expansion of its ice sheet.

http://www.dmi.dk/en/groenland/maalinger/greenland-ice-sheet-surface-mass-budget/

It is unlikely you will hear any of this from the BBC or their chums in Greenpeace.