DAMOCLES - Understanding climate change in the Arctic

Slow ice growth leads to low November ice extent

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 13:49:28 PST

National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC): Arctic sea ice grew more slowly than average in November, leading to the second-lowest ice extent for the month. At the end of November, Hudson Bay was still nearly ice-free.

Arctic ice extent remains low despite rapid growth

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 17:04:18 PST

National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC): After reaching its minimum extent on September 19, Arctic sea ice grew rapidly through the first half of October before slowing down late in the month. Even with that rapid growth, ice extent for October was the third lowest for that month in the satellite record. Air temperatures in the Arctic were higher than normal.

Weather and feedbacks lead to third-lowest extent

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 11:55:53 PST

National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC): An eventful summer sea ice melt season has ended in the Arctic. Ice extent reached its low for the year, the third lowest in the satellite record, on 19 September. Both the Northwest Passage and the Northern Sea Route were open for a period during September.

Arctic sea ice reaches annual minimum extent

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 17:17:34 PST

National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC): After appearing to reach its annual minimum extent on September 10, and beginning to freeze up, Arctic sea ice again declined for several days. Ice extent reached its lowest value for the season on September 19, 2010, and has now been expanding for seven days.

The ACCESS (Arctic Climate Change Economy and Society) european project

Sun, 19 Sep 2010 17:11:28 PST

The ACCESS (Arctic Climate Change Economy and Society) european project has begun on March 1st, 2011

End of the DAMOCLES Project

Sat, 18 Sep 2010 00:00:00 PST

The DAMOCLES Project has ended on May 31st, 2010.

The DAMOCLES Publishable Final Activity Report can be downloaded (see end of page).

The DAMOCLES Website will no longer be updated.

If you are interested in the Arctic and Climate Change, a new European project has just begun on March 1st, 2011: ACCESS (Arctic Climate Change Economy and Society)

The ACCESS website is www.access-eu.org

End of summer approaches for Arctic sea ice

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:10:28 PST

National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC): Arctic sea ice generally reaches its annual minimum extent in mid-September. This August, ice extent was the second lowest in the satellite record, after 2007. On September 3, ice extent dropped below the seasonal minimum for 2009 to become the third lowest in the satellite record.

Canada picks site for Arctic research station

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:37:33 PST

Nature: Cambridge Bay location offers a wealth of opportunities for studying the far north.

North by Northwest

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 17:58:09 PST

National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC): The end of summer is approaching in the Arctic; temperatures are dropping and melt is ending in the high latitudes. Yet summer is not quite over in the lower latitudes of the Arctic Ocean, where sea ice extent continues to decline. Sea ice has melted out extensively in the northern route of the Northwest Passage, but the passage is not completely open.

Giant Greenland iceberg a climate 'warning sign'

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 10:20:44 PST

AFP: A giant iceberg that snapped away from Greenland last week is a signal that global warming is causing the island's continent-sized ice cap to melt faster than expected, scientists say.

Ice island could threaten oil, shipping

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 12:13:46 PST

Detroit News/Reuters: It's drifting from Greenland and can't be stopped; researchers work to plot its path.

July sea ice second lowest: oldest ice begins to melt

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:11:24 PST

National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC): Arctic sea ice extent averaged for July was the second lowest in the satellite record, after 2007. After a slowdown in the rate of ice loss, the old, thick ice that moved into the southern Beaufort Sea last winter is beginning to melt out.

A change in atmospheric circulation

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:55:24 PST

National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC): The rate of ice loss slowed in the first half of July, primarily because of a change in atmospheric circulation. The dipole anomaly, an atmospheric pattern that dominated the Arctic in June, broke down. It was replaced by a pattern of low-pressure systems tracking across northern Eurasia and then into the central Arctic Ocean.

Rapid ice loss continues through June

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:56:52 PST

National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC): Average June ice extent was the lowest in the satellite data record, from 1979 to 2010. Arctic air temperatures were higher than normal, and Arctic sea ice continued to decline at a fast pace. June saw the return of the Arctic dipole anomaly, an atmospheric pressure pattern that contributed to the record sea ice loss in 2007.

Arctic sea ice does not recover

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 13:11:33 PST

AWI: Recently published data from DAMOCLES scientists reveal that another critical minimum for Arctic sea ice can be expected in September 2010.

EQUIPEX IAOOS Project

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 11:22:06 PST

Arctic sea ice extent declines rapidly in May

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 22:30:26 PST

National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC): In May, Arctic air temperatures remained above average, and sea ice extent declined at a rapid pace. At the end of the month, extent fell near the level recorded in 2006, the lowest in the satellite record for the end of May. Analysis from scientists at the University of Washington suggests that ice volume has continued to decline compared to recent years. However, it is too soon to say whether Arctic ice extent will reach another record low this summer—that will depend on the weather and wind conditions over the next few months.

Scientists study the thin ice of Greenland

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 10:40:20 PST

Wales Online: An expedition led by a Welsh scientist is examining whether the Greenland ice sheet is collapsing.

Decline of the polar bear

Fri, 28 May 2010 13:42:27 PST

Simcoe Reformer: A study by a team of Canadian scientists has concluded that effects of climate change will have a dramatic on impact polar bear populations.

Polar Bears pushed to the edge

Thu, 27 May 2010 10:57:06 PST

Irish Times: A new report on the state of the Arctic tundra makes for depressing reading for the future of all biodiversity in the region.