April
19, 2007 The researchers at
CU-Boulder's Sea-ice extent is
the area of an
ocean covered by at least 15 percent ice. Declining sea ice in the Researchers pay
particular
attention to September and March because they generally mark the annual
minimum
and maximum sea-ice extents respectively, said Drobot. On April 4,
researchers
from CU-Boulder's National Snow and While regional sea
ice declines
were sharpest in the western Arctic over the past few years, large
declines
also occurred last year in much of the eastern "The practical
offshoot here
is that people operating ships in Arctic waters can use these forecasts
to try
to plan activities several months in advance," said Drobot. The sea ice
research by the CCAR group -- the only research group in the world
currently
making seasonal Arctic sea ice forecasts based on probability -- is
funded by
the National Science Foundation and NASA, he said. The CCAR researchers
used
satellite data from the U.S. Department of Defense and temperature
records from
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the forecasts,
which
they have been producing for five years, said Drobot. Updated forecasts
will be
provided throughout the spring and summer, he said.
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