Arctic Ocean

The Arctic may become ice-free for the first time on a late August or early September day in the 2020s to 2030s, 10 years earlier than expected, a shocking new study finds.Rare Polar Bear Attack in Canada | Extreme EarthThe polar region has been losing sea ice at an accelerated rate, shrinking by 12.2% each decade due to warmer temperatures. Under all emission scenarios, an ice-free Arctic could arrive much sooner than previous models had predicted, an ominous sign of the ongoing climate crisis that would have major…

Picture a raft of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, and you’re probably imagining a pristine marriage of white and blue. But during summertime, below the surface, something much greener and goopier lurks. A type of algae, Melosira arctica, grows in large, dangling masses and curtains that cling to the underside of Arctic sea ice, mostly obscured from a bird’s eye view.Lower Drought Conditions In California | Extreme EarthThe algae, made up of long strings and clumps of single-celled organisms called diatoms, is an essential…