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<ul><li>Sea ice in the Arctic is melting faster than ever because of rising temperature and it may adversely affect the Indian monsoon rain pattern. </li><li>It has become difficult for new sea ice to make trans-arctic journey as only 20% of the ice could actually reach the Central Arctic. </li><li>The ice is 30% less thick than it was 15 years ago. </li></ul>The polar Arctic Zone — which has been melting from the past two centuries — has started melting dramatically because of rising temperatures that could adversely impact the India’s rain pattern and the seasonal monsoon, said a team of researchers ahead of a major expedition to explore the Arctic. The sea ice has been melting faster than ever and that could have a severe implication on major ocean currents linked to extreme weather events, said the researchers. In simple words, <keyword id="7508979" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ocean-current">ocean current</keyword>s helps to transport sea ice from one destination to another. Given the current situation, Transpolar Drift — a major ocean current that transports sea ice from the <keyword id="3974424" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="laptev-sea">Laptev Sea</keyword> and East Siberian Sea towards Fram Strait — will suffer, leading to major consequences across the world including India. It is also one of the dominant factors in determining weather patterns across the Northern Hemisphere, said the report. It has become increasingly difficult for new sea ice to make trans-arctic journey. Till 1990s, half the sea ice formed in the Arctic sea next to Russia was able to successfully travel without melting. However now, only 20% of the ice is able to reach the Central Arctic. In fact, 80% of the newly-formed sea ice melts as it is not thick as before. The thickness of the ice is 30% less than it was 15 years ago. This could result in emission of sea ice during summer in the Arctic, said the report. Separately, another study supports these findings. A recent study by the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research revealed a direct relationship between <keyword id="6366055" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="global-warming">global warming</keyword> and the monsoons. “We noticed that there has been an increase in glacial melting driven by warming over the past two centuries. The Arctic witnessed a persistently increasing warming during the studied period with a particularly accelerated tone post-1970s,” reported Hindustan Times citing study. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/polar-vortex-behind-cold-waves-in-north-india/articleshow/67755060.cms">North India is as cold as Southern Europe now because of Arctic winds</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/a-polar-vortex-is-engulfing-the-us-heres-what-that-really-means-and-why-these-events-might-be-getting-more-common-/articleshow/67748349.cms">A polar vortex is engulfing the US. Here's what that really means, and why these events might be getting more common</a>.

Rapid melting sea-ice in the Arctic may hamper India’s monsoon pattern: Study

Sea ice in the coastal regions of the <keyword id="59606" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="arctic">Arctic</keyword> may be thinning up to twice as fast as previously thought, according to a new modelling study led by <keyword id="856563" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="UCL">UCL</keyword> researchers. Sea ice thickness is inferred by measuring the height of the ice above the water, and this measurement is distorted by snow weighing the ice floe down. Scientists adjust for this using a map of snow depth in the Arctic that is decades out of date and does not account for <keyword id="6361617" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="climate-change">climate change</keyword>. In the new study, published in the journal The Cryosphere, researchers swapped this map for the results of a new computer model designed to estimate snow depth as it varies year to year, and concluded that sea ice in key coastal regions was thinning at a rate that was 70 to 100 per cent faster than previously thought. Robbie Mallett (UCL Earth Sciences), the PhD student who led the study, said: "The thickness of sea ice is a sensitive indicator of the health of the Arctic. It is important as thicker ice acts as an insulating blanket, stopping the ocean from warming up the atmosphere in winter, and protecting the ocean from the sunshine in summer. Thinner ice is also less likely to survive during the Arctic summer melt." "Previous calculations of sea ice thickness are based on a snow map last updated 20 years ago. Because sea ice has begun forming later and later in the year, the snow on top has less time to accumulate. Our calculations account for this declining snow depth for the first time, and suggest the sea ice is thinning faster than we thought." Co-author Professor Julienne Stroeve (UCL Earth Sciences) said: "There are a number of uncertainties in measuring sea ice thickness but we believe our new calculations are a major step forward in terms of more accurately interpreting the data we have from satellites. "We hope this work can be used to better assess the performance of climate models that forecast the effects of long-term climate change in the Arctic -- a region that is warming at three times the global rate, and whose millions of square kilometres of ice are essential for keeping the planet cool." To calculate sea ice thickness researchers used radar from the <keyword id="59844" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="European-Space-Agency">European Space Agency</keyword>'s CryoSat-2 satellite. By timing how long it takes for radar waves to bounce back from the ice, they can calculate the height of the ice above the water, from which they can infer the ice's total thickness. In the new study, researchers used a novel snow model previously developed by researchers at UCL and <keyword id="160659" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Colorado-State-University">Colorado State University</keyword>, SnowModel-LG, which calculates snow depth and density using inputs such as air temperature, snowfall and ice motion data to track how much snow accumulates on sea ice as it moves around the <keyword id="64862" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Arctic-Ocean">Arctic Ocean</keyword>. By combining the results of the snow model with satellite radar observations, they then estimated the overall rate of decline of sea ice thickness in the Arctic, as well as the variability of sea ice thickness from year to year. They found that the rate of decline in the three coastal seas of Laptev, Kara and Chukchi seas increased by 70, 98 and 110 per cent respectively, when compared to earlier calculations. They also found that, across all seven coastal seas, the variability in sea ice thickness from year to year increased by 58 per cent. Sea ice in the coastal seas typically varies from half a metre to two metres thick. Increasingly, the ice in this region is not surviving the summer melt. The faster thinning of sea ice in the coastal Arctic seas has implications for human activity in the region, both in terms of shipping along the Northern Sea Route for a larger part of the year, as well as the extraction of resources from the sea floor such as oil, gas and minerals. Mallett said: "More ships following the route around Siberia would reduce the fuel and carbon emissions necessary to move goods around the world, particularly between China and Europe. "However, it also raises the risk of fuel spillages in the Arctic, the consequences of which could be dire. The thinning of coastal sea ice is also worrying for indigenous communities, as it leaves settlements on the coast increasingly exposed to strong weather and wave action from the emerging ocean." Mallett, Professor Stroeve and co-author Michel Tsamados (UCL Earth Sciences) spent several weeks investigating snow and ice in the Arctic onboard the German research vessel Polarstern, which explored the central Arctic Ocean in 2019 and 2020. The study was funded by the UK's Natural Environment Research Council, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the <keyword id="621656" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="US-National-Aeronautics-and-Space-Administration">US National Aeronautics and Space Administration</keyword> (NASA). SEE ALSO <a target="_blank" class="c-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/oneplus-nord-ce-5g-mobile-phone-full-specifications-leaked-days-ahead-of-launch/articleshow/83195375.cms">OnePlus Nord CE 5G full specifications leaked days ahead of launch – heavily inspired by the original Nord</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/top-five-fintech-ideas-that-are-drawing-the-most-amount-of-money/slidelist/83194276.cms">Five fintech ideas that are raking in the most amount of money</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/reliance-industries-rossari-biotech-tata-power-and-other-stocks-to-watch-out-for-on-june-3/slidelist/83193921.cms">Reliance Industries, Rossari Biotech, Tata Power and other stocks to watch out for on June 3</a>

Arctic sea ice thinning twice as fast than expected, say researchers

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Siberia has seen record-setting heat in recent weeks, part of a trend of increasing temperatures across the <keyword id="59606" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="arctic">Arctic</keyword> region.</li><li>A warmer Arctic has long been seen as an opportunity for increased shipping and resource extraction, but going after those resources may bring otherwise cooperative countries into conflict.</li></ul>Record-setting temperatures above the Arctic Circle have again drawn attention to <keyword id="6361617" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="climate-change">climate change</keyword> in the high north, where the prospect of more accessibility has stoked both national and commercial competition.The temperature <a href="https://apnews.com/45ffaf65b4f0301a41c4db02fa0ad2c7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hit 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit</a> on Saturday in the Siberian town of Verkhoyansk, where records have been kept since 1885. The town, home to about 1,300 people and roughly 3,000 miles northeast of Moscow, has the world's most extreme temperature range, with a low of -90 degrees Fahrenheit and a previous high of 98.96 degrees Fahrenheit.Temperatures have hit highs across Siberia this year. The heat has melted snow and ice, contributing <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/06/21/arctic-temperature-record-siberia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to feedback loops</a> that perpetuate the warming trend.Verkhoyansk is inland, but satellite images taken over the weekend <a href="https://www.insider.com/arctic-hottest-temperature-record-climage-change-2020-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">showed</a> open water on the East Siberian Sea and signs of ice melt on the Laptev Sea. The Arctic as a whole is warming more than <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/06/what-100-degree-day-siberia-means-climate-change/#:~:text=The%20Arctic%20is%20warming%20more,how%20humans%20are%20causing%20it.)" target="_blank" rel="noopener">twice as fast</a> as the rest of the planet.That trend has long been present in the European Arctic, where temperatures have risen and sea-ice coverage fallen over <a href="https://climate.copernicus.eu/european-arctic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the past 40 years</a>.<div type="image" title="Nilsen Arctic ice photo" height="510" width="840" msid="76603899" hostid="261"></div>A photo taken by journalist Thomas Nilsen, editor of Norwegian news outlet <a href="https://thebarentsobserver.com/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Barents Observer</a>, in the Kara Sea in 2013, a century after a similar voyage by Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen, revealed the extent of that diminishing ice cover."The photos are taken on the same August day at the same location, but with 100 years in between," Nilsen told Insider in an email in February. "And worse, we sailed even further north that August in 2013 and didn't see any sea ice at all."<div type="image" title="Nilsen Arctic photo current" height="560" width="840" msid="76603907" hostid="261"></div>Nilsen presented the photos at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council and the Norwegian Embassy in Washington, DC, in February."If you find certain spots, like Svalbard on Norway, the changes are even more dramatic," Nilsen said at the event. "Over the last 100 months, there has not been one single month where temperatures have been normal or lower than normal. It's always been higher and up to 8 degrees Celsius" — or up to 14 degrees higher in Fahrenheit.<h2>Climate change and resource insecurity</h2>Along with more interest from navies, a more accessible Arctic has attracted an increase in commercial activity.<keyword id="6358826" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Russia">Russia</keyword>, which has the world's longest Arctic coastline and gets roughly one-quarter of its GDP from the region, has led the way with its Northern Sea Route.<div type="image" title="Arctic map Northern Northwest Northeastern sea routes" height="952" width="1003" msid="76603914" hostid="261"></div>That route promises shorter transit time between Europe and Asia. Less ice in the Arctic also means more travel time: Liquified-natural gas tanker Christophe de Margerie and icebreaker Yamal left the port of Sabetta at the western end of the route on May 18 this year bound for China — <a href="https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/2020/05/years-first-convoy-breaking-its-way-through-russian-arctic-ice-course-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the earliest voyage</a> of its kind on record.But Russia's development of the Northern Sea Route, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-finds-new-arctic-islands-amid-great-power-competition-2019-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">its changing military footprint across the region</a>, has concerned dismayed other Western countries."I watch with interest now the militarization of the Northern Sea Route over top of Russia. I see the melting ice cap, and I've seen increasing interest in commercial companies to save fuel ... and I see increasing risk in terms of state-on-state conflict," Vice Adm. Jerry Kyd, British Royal Navy fleet commander, said this month <a href="https://www.iiss.org/events/2020/06/navies-climate-change-new-environment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">at an event</a> hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.<div type="image" title="Russia cod fish factory Murmansk" height="1841" width="2500" msid="76603923" hostid="261"></div>Outside of military buildup, however, changes in the region have security implications for the communities there, Nilsen said at the February event."Last summer, me and my son, we were out in the fjord just outside where we are living [in northern Norway], and he got a mackerel when we were fishing. A mackerel is a fish that you should never get in the Barents Sea," Nilsen said. "I started to ask around, and yeah, we're not the only ones."Mackerel, typically found in the southern part of the Norwegian Sea, is subject to overfishing and countries in the area <a href="https://www.icelandreview.com/news/mackerel-war-on-the-cards-as-iceland-increases-quota/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have put quotas</a> on it. "But with the species moving further north, you need to renegotiate. You get more mackerel up in the north, well, then you have to bring in Russia," Nilsen said.Scientists have said that cod, which prefer colder water, are "now moving away from the western part of the Barents Sea and further to the northeastern part of the Barents Sea ... way inside Russian territorial waters," Nilsen added.Management of marine resources in this changing environment has been a point of contention in Europe, where fishermen have <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45337091" target="_blank" rel="noopener">come to blows</a> in recent years. "There have been some debates ... with the European Union and the European Parliament that strongly disagree with Norway," Nilsen said.<div type="image" title="UK England Brexit fishing boat" height="1875" width="2500" msid="76603933" hostid="261"></div>China, too, is seen as having designs on Arctic <keyword id="75769" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Fisheries">fisheries</keyword>. Beijing has already dispatched fleets of fishing vessels around the world, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-warns-chinas-aggressive-fishing-boats-could-start-a-war-2019-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">often running afoul of other governments</a>.With rapid warming in the Arctic, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/12/arctic-ocean-protected-from-fishing-before-ice-melts-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">much of the</a> <keyword id="64862" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Arctic-Ocean">Arctic Ocean</keyword> outside the 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone of the countries that surround it is now open water in the summer. In 2018, nine signatories, including China, <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/content/eu-and-arctic-partners-enter-historic-agreement-prevent-unregulated-fishing-high-seas-%E2%80%93_en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">agreed to prohibit</a> unregulated commercial fishing in the central Arctic for 16 years.Going forward, countries are likely to look to their militaries to help manage those marine resources. The British government is already doing so, Kyd said this month."I also see a greater push now from other government departments on the Ministry of Defense, [Department for International Development], and the Foreign Office, particularly in things like protection of marine resources — fisheries are a big one," Kyd said."We did an awful lot of that 20 years ago — one remembers <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/from-the-archive-blog/2018/sep/07/first-cod-war-iceland-britain-fish-1958" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Cod Wars</a> — but I think as world resource gets ever more competitive ... presence, and understanding where we stand in terms of legality and regulation, is going to be critical."

Record heat in the Arctic is setting the stage for a different kind of conflict

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Dmitri Lovetsky/AP PhotoThe floating Akademik Lomonosov nuclear power plant is towed out of the St. Petersburg shipyard on April 28, 2018.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>A <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russias-nuclear-titanic-floating-power-plant-has-set-sail-2018-4?r=UK">floating nuclear power plant</a> in Russia will soon begin a 4,000-mile journey across the Arctic Ocean.</li><li>Construction of the plant started more than a decade ago. This month, it's expected to arrive in the port of Pevek, where it will supply power to a remote region of Russia.</li><li>Environmental activists worry about the perils of floating nuclear reactors, since they could be vulnerable to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/geoengineering-how-to-reverse-climate-change-2019-4">climate-related disasters</a> such as tsunamis.</li><li>A nuclear-energy expert at Greenpeace likened the floating station to "Chernobyl on ice." </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more.</a></li></ul>For more than a decade, the Russian town of Pevek has anticipated the arrival of a floating nuclear-power plant.This month, it is finally slated to arrive, but first the plant must complete a 4,000-mile ocean voyage.The plant, called Akademik Lomonosov, is expected to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/04/russia-floating-nuclear-power-station-chernobyl-on-ice">supply electricity to an estimated </a><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/04/russia-floating-nuclear-power-station-chernobyl-on-ice">100,000 homes</a> in a remote, far-east region of Russia - Pevek is an Arctic port and the nation's northernmost town. It's currently in the city of Murmansk, following several years at the St. Petersburg shipyard, where it was loaded with two nuclear reactors and outfitted with a pool, gym, and booze-free bar.But some environmentalists are concerned that the floating plant could fall victim to a disaster like a tsunami, resulting in a possible nuclear catastrophe. "It's riskier than running an ordinary nuclear-power station, and Russia has a checkered past when it comes to ordinary power stations," Jan Haverkamp, a nuclear-energy expert at the environmental nonprofit Greenpeace, told Business Insider. Last year, Haverkamp <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/16149/32-years-on-Chernobyl-on-ice/">published a blog post</a> that referred to the floating plant as "Chernobyl on ice." Haverkamp said he borrowed the phrase from an article published in the Finnish newspaper YLE, because he thinks Russia may be ignoring safety concerns about the plant. <h2>The floating plant will journey 4,000 miles across the Arctic Ocean</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Dmitri Lovetsky/AP PhotoThe Akademik Lomonosov was constructed in St. Petersburg, Russia.</div></div></div>Russia eventually hopes to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/04/russia-floating-nuclear-power-station-chernobyl-on-ice">mass-produce similar floating power plants</a> for other nations. But nuclear plants have faced increased scrutiny since the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/chernobyl">Chernobyl</a> accident in 1986 forced the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chernobyl-fukushima-three-mile-island-nuclear-disasters-2019-6">evacuation of an entire city</a> and caused <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chernobyl-hbo-radioactive-nuclear-expert-says-tours-are-safe-2019-6">widespread contamination across Europe</a>. Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/could-chernobyl-happen-again-russia-reactors-2019-6">Russia still has 10 Chernobyl-style reactors that scientists say aren't necessarily safe</a>Many environmentalists still worry that the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/could-chernobyl-happen-again-russia-reactors-2019-6">safety risks of nuclear reactors</a> might outweigh the benefits of renewable nuclear power. Nuclear energy generation creates less air pollution and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_emissions" title="">carbon emissions</a> than its fossil-fuel counterparts, and releases more energy using less fuel. Nuclear plants are also <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/why-nuclear-power-must-be-part-of-the-energy-solution-environmentalists-climate">cheaper to operate</a> than coal or natural gas plants. However, Haverkamp's biggest concern about the floating plant is the upcoming 4,000-mile trek required to transport the barge to Pevek. The journey, he said, is "potentially hazardous" due to the rocky coastline that borders the Arctic Ocean. In 2012, a violent storm in the Arctic Ocean caused a Shell drilling rig to break free of its tow ship and <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2014/04/140404-coast-guard-blames-shell-in-kulluk-rig-accident/">run aground off the coast of Alaska</a>. The rig avoided a fuel spill, but the incident incited questions about the safety of towing a fuel-laden vessel across ocean waters.Haverkamp said that event shows what could go wrong with Akademik Lomonosov. If the floating nuclear power plant were to crash into coastal rocks, he added, its fuel could melt and trigger an explosion once it hits the water. From there, radioactive material could spew into the atmosphere.<h2>A 'nuclear Titanic'</h2>Russia's nuclear energy company, Rosatom, has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/26/business/energy-environment/russia-floating-nuclear-power.html">previously claimed</a> that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/04/russia-floating-nuclear-power-station-chernobyl-on-ice">the floating plant</a> is "invulnerable to tsunamis." The plant's deputy director <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/28/europe/russia-arctic-floating-nuclear-power-station-intl/index.html">recently told CNN</a> that the station comes equipped with a backup system that can cool the reactors without electricity for 24 hours. But environmentalists worry that <a href="https://www.arctictoday.com/rosatom-leaves-questions-safety-floating-nuclear-power-plant-unanswered/">it could take longer than a day</a> for emergency-response teams to reach the barge. Because of that, Haverkamp said, a Greenpeace colleague of his likened the station to a "nuclear Titanic." "They've literally said it's unsinkable and those are the very words that were used for the Titanic," Haverkamp said. "For me, that is an alarm light flashing very brightly. It's overconfidence, and overconfidence is not good for ultra-hazardous activities."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Mikhail Varentsov/ShutterstockAn iceberg in the Arctic Ocean between the Kara and Laptev seas.</div></div></div>Haverkamp is also concerned about the stockpiling of spent nuclear fuel onboard the vessel. The floating station intends to keep its spent fuel for up to 12 years, since it won't have easy access to a nuclear-waste storage facility. That could raise the risk of more damage in the event of an accident or natural disaster.Rosatom has pushed back on these claims, though. "Greenpeace has not presented any meaningful scientific evidence to support any unaddressed risks or shortcomings of the plant's design, which is based on tried and tested technology," a Rosatom representative said in <a href="http://www.rosatom.ru/en/press-centre/news/an-attempt-to-enter-a-dangerous-proximity-to-rosatom-s-floating-nuclear-power-unit-intercepted-in-th/">a statement</a>. Haverkamp said he doesn't foresee another disaster on the scale of Chernobyl, but added that sees lingering similarities between Russia's behavior then and now. "You cannot compare the force that came out of Chernobyl with what could come out here, but what you can compare is the attitude that was shown during the construction of this floating nuclear power station," he said. "Rosatom has done its very best to keep independent oversight at arm's length during the entire construction phase. That is a recipe for catastrophe."Haverkamp said there haven't been enough independent inspections to make him feel confident about the plant's safety. And plant's planned remote location could make future oversight even more lax, he added. "Chernobyl went wrong because they tried out something that they hadn't pulled off properly beforehand," Haverkamp said. "I don't know what's going to happen here." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chernobyl-hbo-true-story-details-facts-myths-ukraine-nuclear-2019-6">12 ways HBO changed the Chernobyl story</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

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Rapid melting sea-ice in the Arctic may hamper India’s monsoon pattern: Study

BI India Bureau

Arctic sea ice thinning twice as fast than expected, say researchers

IANS

Record heat in the Arctic is setting the stage for a different kind of conflict

Christopher Woody

A floating nuclear plant in Russia features a gym, bar, and pool. An expert calls it 'Chernobyl on ice.'

Aria Bendix

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