The vanishing ice could change the whole ecosystem in the area, the researchers say.
Last year, more than a million square meter of ice suddenly vanished from the pole. The researchers expect the melting to continue this year, Aftenposten reports.
Meanwhile, both researchers, oil companies and shipping agencies with excitement follow the developments. For the indigenous peoples living in the area, the situation is likewise dramatic. A local seal hunter from Pangnirtung in northern Canada says to Aftenposten that he this year has to go more hours north with his snow mobile to reach the ice edge compared with last year.
In the Fram Straits, an area usually covered by thick multi-year old ice, the researchers from the Polar Institute found only young one-year old ice, the Polar Institute writes on their website. The water temperatures in the area has over the last ten years become 2-3 degrees centigrade higher. The warmer water and less ice will boost the algae production in the area and thus potentially change the whole ecosystem, the researchers say.
