When will the artic have an ice free summer?

Question

When where there be an in ice free summer? I've heard 2008, 2013, 2020, 2030, 2040, etc. When is the best project guess on when it will be ice free?

Also, if it does what are the affects?

Answer 1

God Forbid!!!!

Count on oil prices going higher& animal extinction.

Answer 2

What affect does melting ice have on the water level it is floating in?

For example, the polar icecap.

Here is a science experiment to answer that question:

Put ice cubes in a glass, then fill the glass to the rim water.  Allow the ice to melt and see for yourself what happens to the water level.

When you do, please reconsider the truth of global warming.

Answer 3

difficult to estimate speed of a non linear change. my guess is sooner rather than later, 3 or 4 years to a switch to no sea ice at all in the summer and a yearly cover in winter, more like what happens in the sea around the antarctic ice shelves.

there will still be ice on greenland for next 50 or so years at least, i'm sure.

Answer 4

Try never in your life time.

Answer 5

by 2028

Answer 6

The most aggressive estimate I've seen is 2012, but that was before the La Nina coolinng influence hit last Fall and I believe before the PDO was determined to be switching towards a cooling influence, so hopefully the worst Arctic melting will be postponed for a while.  You can be sure we'll hear updates late this Summer though.

Ominous Arctic Melt Worries Experts

'Arctic Is Screaming,' Say Scientists Seeing New Data; Worry Over 'Tipping Point'

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireSto...

"This week, after reviewing his own new data, NASA climate scientist Jay Zwally said: "At this rate, the Arctic Ocean could be nearly ice-free at the end of summer by 2012, much faster than previous predictions."

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The main effect will be rapid additional warming of the Arctic, since the reflective snow and ice covering will be gone. That heat may seriously affect crops such as wheat, so food prices could climb.  The increasingly warm water traveling towards Europe and the West Coast of North America could disrupt fisheries, intensify weather in Europe and the Western United States, and shifting wind patterns could intensify droughts (Southwestern U.S. for example, possibly the Midwest).

Answer 7

According to this article as early as 2013.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7139...

"northern polar waters could be ice-free in summers within just 5-6 years.

Professor Wieslaw Maslowski told an American Geophysical Union meeting that previous projections had underestimated the processes now driving ice loss.

Summer melting this year reduced the ice cover to 4.13 million sq km, the smallest ever extent in modern times."

"Our projection of 2013 for the removal of ice in summer is not accounting for the last two minima, in 2005 and 2007," the researcher from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, explained to the BBC.

"So given that fact, you can argue that may be our projection of 2013 is already too conservative."

Get it? Even 2013 maybe too conservative an estimate. I quess in 5 years we'll know for sure.

Answer 8

Never.  The ice loss was caused by ocean currents, not a rise in temperatures.

These ocean currents change because of natural cycles, not anything man has done.

Now that the ocean currents changed, the ice will not melt like last year.

Answer 9

i think about 50 yrs from now or something... anyways if it did the coast will be completely covered a huge number of island will disappear and the earth will become way hotter

anyways if u want more details and everything try watching the movie inconvenient truth

Answer 10

Not in this century... there will always be a little up there on the North pole. If all the ice melts up there, lots of our coasts will be covered by the sea.

Answer 11

well since the ice pack is deeper in some areas than usual (not being reported by the media because it doen't suit their agenda) and since nobody really knows what's going on......let's say 2198 when you'll be long gone and not suffering from this silliness.