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August 2008

Vol. 13, No. 31 Week of August 03, 2008

Arctic ice: more there, less here

Norwegian report ice buildup north of the Svalbard archipelago but ice has broken from the Ward Hunt shelf

Alan Bailey

Petroleum News

An apparent contradiction to a multi-year trend of shrinking ice cover in the Arctic, the Norwegian Meteorological Institute has reported more sea ice than normal north of the Svalbard archipelago, in the northwestern Barents Sea. Although the area is normally ice-free in July, there is an extensive ice cover this year, the institute says.

And according to a report in the Barents Observer the Norwegian Coast Guard has had to assist two vessels that became stuck in the ice.

The ice situation seems different in the Canadian Arctic, however. According to a report by the BBC, satellite pictures have shown that an eight-square-mile chunk of the Ward Hunt shelf has split away from Ellesmere Island. (See related story on page 11 of this issue.)

The Arctic is experiencing another rapid ice retreat in 2008, although the ice minimum is unlikely to exceed the 2007 minimum, the report says.

A scientist from Trent University in Ontario told the BBC that the current warming trend in the Arctic makes it improbable that the ice shelves that break up can regenerate.






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