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The Melting Arctic
A Display of Arctic Sea Ice From 1981 To 2023.
The Issue of The melting Arctic
This story map seeks to display the decline of Arctic Sea ice from 1981 to 2023 in a clear a visible format. Arctic Sea ice has been in decline due to human induced climate change and positive feedback loops associated to increased melting. Increased summer melting rates have been documented in the Arctic Ocean since 2007 (Wu & Li, 2022). This trend of melting has been occurring long before 1981. From 1973 to 1980 satellite data reported a loss of 2.5 million square kilometers of Arctic Sea ice (Kukla & Gavin, 1981). The altering of this frigid environment will not only impact local ecosystems but, global ones as well. Summers with large melts saw reduced precipitation in the mid latitudes and a strengthened Monsoon is Asia (Wu & Li, 2022). The reduced ice coverage could alter ocean currents that regulate Earths temperature and reduced Earth’s albedo leading to further warming and melting. These changes to the climate are difficult to predict and far reaching
Map of Arctic Sea Ice Decline
This map illustrates that extent to of annual Arctic Sea ice has been in decline since at least 1981. The data was collected from the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Easy to read data such as map convey a clear message and are capable of communicating complicated messages such as climate change and sea ice decline. The goal of this story map is to communicate the impacts of climate change and melting sea ice with a tangible easy to consume display.
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This map illustrates the melting trend of the arctic ice cap from 1981 to 2023. The Arctic Sea Ice extent was collected from satellites by the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Each layer represents the month of September of each year, or the month with the least sea ice. The North Pole Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area coordinate system was used to preserve area in the polar regions. The layers for each year are noticeably smaller in size as time goes on conveying the message that Arctic Sea ice is melting. The shift in colour from yellow to red also conveys the serious tone of this crisis. The Chart on the lower left of the map illustrates the trend of sea ice loss from 1981 to 2023 and the white map on the lower left shows the sea ice extent in 2012, the smallest sea ice extent recorded.
There are a few technical features of the map that demand an explanation.
What does ice extent mean?
Ice extent is a measurement of the boundaries of ice and all the area inside, Ice area is the measurement of where there is ice only. Regions with more than 15% ice are included in the Ice Extent.
Why is the land and ocean grayed out?
The focus of this map is on the Arctic Sea ice. While other regions in the Arctic are also affected by climate change, they are not the focus of this map.
Will the North Pole melt completely?
Scientists have predictions for an Ice-free arctic ranging from 2030 to 2100.
How do we know Human activity has caused climate change and ice melt?
The burning of fossil fuels has led to increased global temperatures. Further, evidence to support this is the monitored increase of carbon dioxide measured in the atmosphere. This has increased the Earths Green house effect and induced warming.
Why September so important to Arctic Sea ice?
September is used to track the extent of sea ice melt as it is the month where the ice has retreated the most throughout an entire annual cycle. Other months such as April or December will not show the maximum melt extent of sea ice. By tracking September, the melt maximums can be compared to previous years. Through these means it can be concluded that permanent Arctic Sea ice is decreasing in area overtime.
Answers retrieved from the National Snow and Ice Data Center February 24th, 2024
Time Lapse of Arctic Sea Decline
This Time lapse was created with the same data as the first map. Timelapses are useful tools to convey a message as they are often short and direct. The human brain can easily process the change from one frame to the next and draw a comparison. In this instance the comparison is the Arctic Sea ice extent shrinking as the years tick down. The Change in colour from yellow to red, a colour associated with warnings and danger also hints to the danger of Climate change and melting sea ice.
Using R Studio to Track Sea Ice Decline
This is a timelapse constructed using R Studio. The data was collected using R scripts and complied into a time lapse.
Using R studio allows for rapid computations that would otherwise take hour to complete. The scrip used in this instance located a folder and then downloaded images from the National Snow and Ice Data Center. With out direct handling of a user the R program was able to arrange the images in chronological order and create a time lapse animation. This is useful as it allows for the rapid construction of times lapses that could then be compared to other regions or subjects. This process would otherwise be time consuming and exhausting. Having an automated script means more time can be spent searching for comparisons and trends that could be related to one another, leading to deeper research. These applications could be used to build timelapses for any images with visual change. In the remote sensing world examples could include, tracking shoreline erosion, the recovery of ecosystems after fires, deforestation and tracking urban sprawl. The applications are endless and save man hours of frustrating data management.